HP says it isn't in cahoots with SCO on 'IP indemnification program', Sep 24, 2003

Fink used the phrase "business partner" about SCO. Asked how this should be interpreted, he said, "SCO and HP had a long history where we sold their OpenUnix on HP Proliant servers." When I asked if anyone was still buying OpenUnix though HP, he hedged with a small laugh. "I don't track those numbers," he said. He also pointed out that SCO and HP have no Linux-based business partnership.

Fink was asked what he thought about SCO's allegation in a press release sent out earlier today (full text at the end of this article) that said, "Rather than deny the existence of substantial structural problems with Linux as many Open Source leaders have done, HP is acknowledging that issues exist and is attempting to be responsive to its customers' request for relief. HP's actions are driving the Linux industry towards a licensing program. In other words, Linux is not free."

He called SCO's words, "An interesting spin," and carefully pointed out that HP has no official position on the validity of SCO's claims. "That's up to the courts to decide," he said.

A recent assessment of Sun Microsystems Inc.'s enterprise Linux strategy by Boston-based analysis firm Aberdeen Group Inc. cautions IT managers and decision makers about Sun's internal bias toward Solaris and the perception that Sun isn't serious about Linux.

The threat to Microsoft Corp. from the free Linux operating system could intensify with the help of a powerful Asian triumvirate: Japan and South Korea are prodding China to join an effort that promotes alternatives to Windows.

Japan has earmarked $8.6 million for the project and will host a meeting in November for the three governments to boost research in Linux, including flavors that better handle Asian languages.

Like Germany, France and other European countries, Japan, South Korea and China long have been wary of leaving too many government computers and networks dependent on Windows. Many experts view Windows as too prone to computer viruses and hacking.

It's fascinating to watch open-source projects making their way into the Microsoft world. The freely available OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) offers competition to Microsoft Office, though its Windows version is nowhere near as stable as the Linux one. Mozilla 1.4 is a state-of-the-art browser in both Linux and Windows, one that will soon break into two separate products, a browser called Firebird and an e-mail program called Thunderbird.

Ford currently uses versions of Unix from Sun Microsystems Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM. But it's considering more widespread use of Linux on Intel Corp. hardware for some of its server-based applications, primarily because of the potential cost benefits, said George Surdu, director of global IT infrastructure at Ford.

"Do we believe Linux will have a home in Ford Motor Co.? The answer is absolutely yes," said Surdu. "Will it be the be-all, end-all for Ford Motor Co.? No way. But we are very encouraged and pretty excited about Linux in certain spaces."

Update: Wed Sep 24 15:57:02 UTC

SCO has released a press statement alleging that HP's actions prove that Linux "is not free". The CNET story we link to has been updated to reflect these developments.

Hewlett-Packard plans to announce Wednesday that it will indemnify its Linux customers against potential legal actions by SCO Group.

Lindows.com is pleased to announce LindowsHD, high-performance Seagate hard drives pre-loaded with a copy of LindowsOS! Computer manufacturers of all sizes can now compete aggressively for cost-conscious customers in the value segment of the PC business (sub-$500 desktops and sub-$1000 laptops) in the U.S. and in emerging markets.

ORN: This change in policy by VeriSign seems to make antispam activists angry.

PV: A lot more spam is getting through my outer defenses than used to. But that's not the only concern: the other registrars are concerned about monetization; ICANN is concerned about a big change in behavior for users; and standards zealots are just annoyed.

Actually ICANN was consulted about a similar issue, that is, to limit this behavior to just internationalized domain names. ICANN advised against doing that, as did the IETF and the IAB. The ICANN and IAB advice about internationalized domain names would apply even more strongly to the use of wildcards.

As for the standards zealots, the IANA has reserved a.com, b.com, and so on. They're not supposed to exist, but they now appear to exist. It's a small point of theory, but it angers some people.

There are also privacy concerns. Think of other information carried in URLs with query strings, all of which ends up, if URLs are malformed, in VeriSign logs now. Such information may include passwords, logins, and other sensitive information. It wouldn't be sent anywhere if the domain name lookups would fail. You also have other branding concerns. If someone guessed at your domain name it would previously have just failed.

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