SCO fined in Germany over Linux claims, Aug 22, 2008

SCO Group has been ordered to pay a €10,000 (£7,900) fine in Germany for making claims that Linux includes intellectual property from Unix.

Buoyed by a court ruling and prospects for new mobile phone products, The SCO Group says it is on track for a Phoenix-like rebirth.

The SCO Group 's US$5 billion threat against Linux is effectively finished. On Friday, Aug. 10, U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball ruled that SCO doesn't actually own the copyrights that it was using to threaten -- and in some cases, sue -- Linux users.

The SCO Group Inc.'s plan to emerge from bankruptcy calls for Darl McBride to step down as chief executive officer, and a new board of directors will be named.

Darl McBride said Monday he regrets that he is being pushed out as CEO of The SCO Group software company but not his decision to sue IBM and Novell, lawsuits that led to the company's bankruptcy and ultimately his departure.

Time to catch up with numerous filings in the bankruptcy. Folks heard about the proposed reorganization and may be smelling money in the air, I gather, because here comes a creditor, Citi Financial, who's decided it's worth it now to hook a car to the creditors' train and send in their lawyers.

Yes, I was quick to jump on the SCO gets $100 million lifeline story. And yes there is always more story to tell.

Last week I got a surprise call asking my opinion on whether the $100 million influx of funds was going to make a big difference in SCO’s future. All I could think was: “Damn, someone brought SCO back from the dead!?” I’ve since seen speculation that Microsoft, or specifically Bill Gates, is funding this personally and other insanity so I figured I’d weigh in on this non-news event.

The Linux Kernel is one of the most fascinating bits of software out there, partially owing to the vast number of contributors who are responsible for creating it. The Kernel has spread into many areas of our lives; it is used extensively in embedded devices (where its presence goes largely unnoticed) and it is ubiquitous in servers. Its growing success in servers comes at the expense of other established software companies.

While The SCO Group may go on to pursue its plans with a $100 million buyout, it will do so without its longtime CEO Darl McBride.

The promise of a $100 million infusion from a New York investment firm looks to guarantee The SCO Group has the resources to continue its high-profile legal battles against Novell, IBM and others that have rattled the open-source software community.

The bankrupt SCO Group Inc. cut its total work force by 30 workers, or about 26 percent, citing an effort to reduce ongoing operating expenses. The layoffs began on Jan. 31.

SCO has filed its 10K Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2007. What a year it has been.

Novell has expressed concerns that SCO is attempting to sell off assets that could be used to help satisfy its possible financial obligations to Novell.

Novell will head to court this April to find out what it is owed, if anything, by SCO, which had been trying to earn royalties from Unix code it did not own.

It's a pity, really. Caldera and SCO were both grand companies, but their legacy was squandered on anti-Linux lawsuits that, in the end, came to nothing but tens of millions of wasted dollars.

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