By Richard Thurston, 14 August 2007 08:15
NEWS
Microsoft is spreading fear, uncertainty and doubt among open source users, Linus Torvalds has said in an interview.
The software giant is falling short with its technology and, because it cannot win against open source on price, it is trying to encourage inertia in the IT industry, the creator of the Linux operating system said.
Microsoft has been at the centre of considerable controversy over the last 12 months, mainly arising from its statements on open source and its technology partnerships with a range of Linux distributors.
Microsoft has claimed open source software violates 235 of its patents but says it will not sue open source users at the moment. It is this type of claim which angers Torvalds.
He said in the interview with Computerworld: "I personally think it's mainly another shot in the FUD [fear, uncertainty and doubt] war. Microsoft has a really hard time competing on technical merit, and they traditionally have instead tried to compete on price. But that obviously doesn't work either, not against open source. So they'll continue to bundle packages and live off the inertia of the marketplace but they want to feed that inertia with FUD."
As well as making assertions over patents, Microsoft has also caused a stir in the open source world by forming partnerships with Linux distributors, the largest one being Novell.
But despite the controversy, Torvalds remains nonplussed. "I don't actually think the Novell-Microsoft agreement kind of thing matters all that much in the end but it's interesting to see the signs that the sides are at least talking to each other. I don't know what the end result will be but I think it would be healthier for everybody if there wasn't the kind of rabid hatred on both sides," he said in the interview.
Torvalds also addressed the issue of the slow uptake of open source software in businesses, saying there is considerable inertia when it comes to operating systems.
He said: "These things don't take a year or two. They take a decade or two. We've come a long way in those 16 years [since the creation of Linux]. Is there a long way to go? Sure. There are technical issues, support infrastructure and just people's perceptions that just take a long time to sort out."
Microsoft could offer no response to Torvalds' comments at the time of writing.
Richard Thurston writes for ZDNet UK
Comments
There are 4 comments. Join the discussion
1. Richard
More importantly, MS is trying to control "content":
Content and file formats are the new battle-ground:
Much of the multi-media content on the web, and the web 2 features are aimed at Windows users; some specifically at WinXP users.
For example, the BBC's new iPlayer works only with WinXP.
This puts Apple Mac users, let alone Linux users at a great disadvantage and gives MS a self-perpetuating advantage, especially in the "consumer" market.
Linux badly needs *legal* codecs which can handle multi-media web content.
It also needs proper drivers for graphics cards.
2. Cassandra
Perhaps if Microsoft exposed its source code to peer scrutiny and had copyrighted it, then open source and/or other developers might be more aware of what was legitimately whose and when it was invented and by whom. Can you really be guilty of infringement if you separately develop code without sight of what it is claimed has been copied? You can't be guilty of plagarism if you do not know the original work.
Is Microsoft claiming it reviews open source offerings and does nothing but only later claims it invented it all first?
How does anyone know what Microsoft did when if it did not share what it has?
3. Roger Ash
"Nonplussed" : at a loss(p): filled with bewilderment; "at a loss to understand those remarks";
4. Lionel A Smith
Must be coming up to Halloween again. Maybe somebody within is about to let on what the 235 patents are, probably the 26 letters of the alphabet and the digits 0 to 9 for starters.