IBM Breaks Open Source Patent Pledge 359
Jay Maynard writes "IBM has broken the pledge it made in 2005 not to assert 500 patents against open source software. In a letter sent to Roger Bowler, president of TurboHercules SA, IBM's Mark Anzani, head of their mainframe business, claimed that the Hercules open-source emulator (disclaimer: I manage the open source project) infringes on at least 106 issued patents and 67 more applied for. Included in that list are two that it pledged not to assert in 2005. In a blog entry, the NoSoftwarePatents campaign's Florian Mueller said that 'IBM is using patent warfare in order to protect its highly lucrative mainframe monopoly against Free and Open Source Software.' I have to agree: from where I sit, IBM likes Open Source only as long as they don't have to compete with it."
Who wants to emulate... (Score:5, Funny)
Okay okay, I'm an idiot for even thinking it.
Re:A lot of people (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I feel your pain (Score:2, Funny)
rule number 1 of slashdot: ANY thread can be twisted into a bash of microsoft. no exceptions.
Re:I feel your pain (Score:4, Funny)
That's partly because Microsoft makes it so easy, partly because it's fun, and partly because it's an easy way to get modded up!
Re:A lot of people (Score:5, Funny)
Dung cleaner. Ancient mainframe software maintainer. What's the difference?
Heracles cleaned the Augean Stabes to expiate the crime of slaying his own children.
The ancient mainframe software maintainer maintains mainframe software because he gets paid obscenely well for doing it.
And younger programmers won't touch mainframe software, because looking at mainframe software would cause them to go mad and slay their children. Thus, putting them in the dung cleaner role.
Pretty simple innit? Were you able to spot the difference . . . ?
Whoops, you're right (Score:3, Funny)
Ha ha, okay, I get it, and you're right, I missed it. The parent was talking about this [wikipedia.org].
A little forgiveness please, I only had one of these [wikipedia.org].
Re:Turnover (Score:2, Funny)
I apologize to anyone who is a fan of FUD.