CE-Oh no he didn't! Part XVII - Ballmer to Linux users: You owe us
By Josh Fruhlinger 
posted November 19th 2006 8:29PM
posted November 19th 2006 8:29PM
While Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was taking a break from dealing with cranky users still waiting for Vista, he went ahead and told the entire Linux community that they owe him a big thank-you. Yes, yes he did. In a Q&A session at the Professional Association for SQL Server conference, Ballmer (sans sweat) said that Microsoft signed a deal with SUSE Linux distributor Novell in order to get some money back for its "intellectual property." Among other transactions, the one in question sends $40 million to Microsoft in exchange for Microsoft's promise not to sue Novell over possible patent violations. As to whether or not the SUSE Linux distribution actually infringes upon any patents, Novell's payment appears to be some sort of admission fee, and, according to Ballmer, Linux users owe him a big "thanks." After all, he was just assuring that Microsoft gets the "appropriate economic return for our shareholders from our innovation." Meanwhile, Red Hat called the whole thing an "innovation tax" and plans to protect its customers against any infringement claims by Microsoft, asking Ballmer to go ahead and show us all what part of the Linux kernel infringes upon Redmond's patents. So while Ballmer pens his report, get to it, open-source community -- start writing your thank-you notes.[Thanks, Neonez]
Ballmer go back to your tree you chair throwing retard of an ape. Ballmer..the missing link between man and ape. Seriously have you seen this man walk? I swear he would prbably do better swinging threw the trees. For you see he mistook that chair as a tree branch to beat this competition with.
Oh and as an FYI for all of you looking for stock tips. By Microsoft. Ballmer will be introducing fire to the masses next week. If you get close enough to him you can hear him grunt about it right now.
Idiot. I wish he would shut his grunt hole, resign, and let someone with a clue run the company. Or at least someone who doesn't make a complete fool out of himself.
"Now, I despise Microshit as much as the rest of us (and as such, I'll pirate Vista rather than buy it)"
If you really despise them go use another option. I don't think it is so easy to rationalize stealing their product- often they don't originate but they do collect cool technologies and make them ubiquitous...
So go use Linux or a Mac but if you use Vista, pay for it!
They will do their best to make sure you don't get updates if your COA is not legit- can you blame them?
I think whether intellectual rights have been infringed on or not, that tub of lard dosn't need to shout to the world how great he is. That's very tacky, Ballmer - although I'm not sure what else I was expecting...
Yeah, he thinks he's like the singer of 'Bad Manners'. Difference is the latter is cool, Ballmer's not
You guys really don't see what's going on here?
Sun/Java was a turn off for MS (yes, there's a whole ordeal over it and Microsoft basically washed their hands of it, probably because they had no control.)
Microsoft comes out with their own JIT compiler and front end to compete. We call this (dot)NET.
They openly say that .NET is an open standard and reach out for companies to use it. They want you to use it so they can pull the leash in later.
The leverage gaming as their "in". Gamers to them are idiots. Simpletons that will follow them because they have pretty lights.
Thus XNA is born. Windows and XBox only (of course). They continue to tell everyone that DirectX is the ONLY way to go.
Vista ships with a modified OpenGL. Performance of this is under their control now. Competition will soon be crushed.
Linux picks up users on a daily basis, competition get's an "in". Imagine if Mono got to the PS3...wouldn't you think that those "games for windows" could easily be ported to the Playstation? Microsoft would lose their push for total home dominance. I think they saw that and that's why they pulled the string now instead of 3 years from now.
For every XBox360 you buy, you support Microsoft's monopoly and it's dominance in the market. They are leveraging the development community, giving them candy to keep them in the MS team, and your all falling party to it. When Microsoft finally crushes everyone else, your in for a rude awakening.
Call me a conspiratist or what have you, but you CAN NOT trust Microsoft. I seriously hope the 360 fails and the Wii/PS3 prevail again. It will make MS either spend more money trying to take this sector or bail out and cut their losses. I don't see them bailing out. Not until they run everyone else dry.
No, I don't own a 360, and I never will. Don't play Micirosft's game. Literally.
Jesus, ignore my spelling, it's late.
The fact is that the reason Linus distros are becoming more and more popular is because the window managers become more and more like windows/os x, if it wasn't for this then it would just be for the geeks and the paranoid so i'm sure those part infringe on intellectual property.
I do not know how the xbox360 got brought into this by some idiotic logic but if anyone was close to having dominance in video games it is Sony and, while i do own many of their products, they are as unscrupulous as a company can get, forcing out innovative companies like Sega with their marketing force. Nintendo should win this generation for daring to try something different, then xbox for focusing on what gamers need.
Mark said: are you the prettiest face around or do you look like a dogs arse with a turd stuck in it ?
Is that you Ballmer, you disgusting sack of shit? Haven't you heard? Only beautiful people read Engadget. That's why we're making fun of your repulsive, Elephant Man visage.
sounds like microsoft is hungry for money....maybe it has to do with appple taking all their business. thank you apple. microsoft needs to learn business ethics from apple and maybe then they would get the business back...
but microsoft is a bunch of old farts that are losing their way so screw em...and screw em for not coming up with a better OS because windows SUCKS
my2cents:
That guy looks like a typical alpha manager who spews and spews and nothing else ...
C'mon, show us the IP infringement, where is it?
Thank you, Mr. Ballmer, for not getting too much dribble everywhere, you slobbering gargoyle.
@nikster
That's a popular view of the Slashdot crowd, but ask anyone who's actually been involved in filing patents and they'd call you insane for believing that it's easy to get a patent approved. Rather, they'd tell you that the PTO rejects patents for the flimsiest of reasons and you have to go back and forth for months or even years for the faintest glimmer of hope.
If you bother to look into the issue at all, you'll quickly see just how difficult it is to get anything patented.
That man is grotesque.
Wow... a whole bunch of MS haters here. I'll bet everyone who posted those comments posted using Windows, too.
Anyhow, Novell wouldn't have paid up if they hadn't infringed on Microsofts patents.
I don't understand why that is such a big deal. I don't care if you're Microsoft or if your Big Bob's Carpet Outlet... if you infringe on another companies copyright you have to pay up.
@Alexander, MS did not get the idea from Xerox. That would be Apple, which didn't steal the idea but had permission to use it from Xerox. I believe it was some sort of a stock deal but regardless, Apple did not steal the basis of the modern GUI from Xerox. MS copied the basis of their OS from Apple. Don't get me wrong, over the years, MS has added some features that were more evolutionary than revolutionary but has added to the usability of it's OS which Apple has copied. But when it gets down to the nitty gritty, MS copied their OS from Apple.
MS is not a company based on innovation. While I've seen this argument that Apple is a better marketer than a innovator, this is very true in the case of MS. MSDOS was arguably not better than DR DOS and Windows 3.1 and Windows 95 were not better than the Mac OS at the time. Windows XP was largely when things were very equalized as Windows caught up the Mac OS in terms of general functionality and ease of use. There were differences but they're negligeable as is the case now with the current Mac OS and Vista.
As for Novell's payoff to MS, it likely has more to do with other Novell software than Linux. Yes, it's a conspiracy theory but it furthers MS's agenda, which is to crush all other OS's, especially Linux which can easily rise in the next few years to be it's largest competitor. We've seen this with MS's "licensing" of technology from SCO. It wouldn't surprise me if MS could have gotten more from Novell but decided to forgo that pleasure by Novell "licensing" technology from MS that covers it's Linux products. I would really really like them to try the same on Red Hat which is basically a support and service provider in that you can get their product free, but if you want support and help, you need to pay up. They really don't own much in the way of private software like Novell does.
Make no mistake, MS is afraid of Linux and it's actions point to this. One only has to read between the lines. Is Linux there yet? Not by a long shot. It's still aimed at more technically minded folks but I really can see it being "idiot proof" enough in a few years with a popular distro that has most major apps already installed or easily installed in an easy manner that wouldn't confuse Joe Consumer. And that scares MS because they will lose control of the PC OS monopoly they now hold.
To the beta tester who said Vista can't be cracked. BS. You're living in a fairy tale land. Vista _will_ be cracked. The question is the difficulty and practicality. From what I know, Vista has already been cracked before it was officially released but it was some trick using a beta serial number. It will only be a matter of time before they crack Vista.
I'm no bleeding heart MS hater, I own an Xbox and will own an Xbox 360 after the 65nm process shrink (reduced heat). I use Windows XP, at work and at home. I prefer Firefox though to IE though. I actually like WMP, though I do use other media players as well.
Ballmer fucking rules!
The one inovation that has been in Linux(the os as a whole not the kernel) that other os's are copying now? Try multiple desktops.
Stuff that MS will get around to? Try software repositories that you download programs from...except you will have to pay...
I can do the same things with openoffice that people can with ms office. And mine
came from just such a repository. Same thing with Gimp vs Photoshop(not ms).
I don't owe Microsoft crap. They owe me money. I bought a computer and it came with XP.
I wiped the hard drive and used Linux.
I propose a plan. Buy the Xbox360. Buy lots of games. But don't buy(or steal) Vista.
Microsoft is better off as a entertainment company. Because let's face it...Ballmer looks
funny. Funny like a clown...
He's definatly not on Bill's "top 10 best hires" list, or atleast shouldn't be :P
FUKK YOO ballmer
The box said vista OR BETTER, so I installed LINUX!