NYCPHP Meetup

[LeeEyerman at aol.com]

Linux vs. Windows in PC Magazine August 3 Edition -  "Smear Factor"
 
In John C. Dvorak's monthly column (8/3/04) he has written an article  
entitled "Smear Factor."  The gist of the article is that Microsoft has  basically 
started a fierce underground smear campaign against Linux.  Now I  know a bunch 
of you went no da -- where have you been?  But before you chop  my head off 
read on.  The article goes far beyond the usual anti-Linux  propaganda.  The 
article identifies past and new "developing" PR campaigns  that allow Microsoft 
to bash Linux with untruths while maintaining distance from  the negative PR.
 
Quoting from the article: "Making one of these campaigns work takes a lot  of 
resources and skill, and has to be secret too.... We may be witnessing a  
whole new way of trashing a product [Linux] -- an eclectic assault on all known  
fronts and even in the creation of new ones." This is a director quote from PC 
 Magazine (8/3/04) page 51.
 
John Dvorak outlines the newest attack against Linux - that Torvalds did  
write the OS - it is an assembly of stolen code from SCO and others.  John  
Dvorak also reports of an institute named Alexis de Tocqueville Institution  (AdTi) 
_http://www.adti.net/_ (http://www.adti.net/)   that supports this  attack -- 
prior to this attack, AdTi never consulted and worked in this  arena.  
 
On their homepage they state: "Welcome to AdTI.net, ground  zero for the 
global controversy over the hybrid-source operating  system, Linux." (ground 
zero...hmmm) The entire anti-Linux portion of the site  seems devoted to 
establishing one fact: That Torvalds did not write Linux from  scratch and all those who 
assisted may have used bits and pieces of copyrighted  software.  In my 
opinion this is one of the essential elements for SCO to  make their copyright 
infringement case.  If Torvalds and  the Linux community used some SCO code to 
speed the production of  Linux, then there may be copyright infringement (triple 
damages,  accounting for profits, etc, etc)  This is the part of the campaign 
that  establishes possible infringement that I believe Dvorak is referring to. 
  Parts of the site even call Torvalds credibility into question.  It is  
really shocking stuff.  The funny part is, this site which claims to be  ground 
zero for global controversy on Linux has articles on: Reagan, Roosevelt  
Rushmore - Gandhi's Unpower-Grab, Federal and State Savings from Internet Phone  
Calls, Federal Policy Review with Greenspan, Democracy in Iraq, etc.   Really 
weird stuff.  This is all very scary, all my websites and servers  are Linux 
based.... does this scary anyone else? 
 
Dvorak's article is really great work. I have been reading his  articles 
since I was a little kid, and is the only reason I keep buying PC  Magazine.  The 
article ends stating that Microsoft's intent is to slow the  Linux growth by 
making Corp and Individuals take a "wait and see approach"  -  while Microsoft 
keeps selling its products.  
If I had to take two things away from the article:
 
1) Linux needs to be MUCH securer than MS.  Now I have talked to so  many 
Linux admins who say Linux is far more secure.  Is it really or are we  just 
kidding ourselves because Linux hardly gets attacked.  Elsewhere in  the same 
edition, a statistic is quoted that computers are attacked by viruses,  worms, etc 
within 15 seconds of being placed on the Internet.  If Linux  wants to 
compete, we need to know we are secure.
 
2) The SCO issue is big.  It needs to be addressed.  I think a  more 
proactive stance to international and US copyright law needs to be put in  place that 
ensures the legal transfer of intellectual property to the Linux  community.
 
Lastly, in John Dvorak's weekly "Inside Track" (page 51) John outlines the  
many issues surrounding the Microsoft $2 Billion investment in Sun and its  
ramifications.  I am not going to review it but it is almost as alarming as  the 
first article.  (One quick note MS went up against Sun in a bid for  Thailand 
- Microsoft dropped there price of $500-600 MSRP US software to $40 a  copy to 
compete with Linux/Sun/Star Office.  Linux Won!  This has to  scare the ^#$& 
out of Bill.)  The gist of the article is that Sun may  be bought by Fujitsu, 
Star Office may be scrapped, and Java spun off (and if I  had to bet MS would 
buy it.)
 
I would strongly suggest people pick up these articles.  I truly  believe 
that John Dvorak is a fair man, and I think he has opened this issue for  a 
reason.  Here is the no da part - Microsoft has launched a secretive all  out 
assault against Linux.  Linux is there biggest threat - and it makes  them so 
nervous.  As a community, we need to start thinking of proactive  positive 
strategies that strengthen the computer infrastructure, continue to  make computers 
easier and far more secure for users to use, and bring back REAL  competition to 
this marketplace.  
 
The first step I will make is joining everyone on the 14th (I think) for a  
drink.  It is a start anyway.  Any other suggestions?
 
Have a great weekend. And let everyone know about these  articles.
Lee Eyerman
_LeeEyeran at aol.com_ (mailto:LeeEyeran at aol.com)  | _lee at leyerman.com_ 
(mailto:lee at leyerman.com) 
PHP/MySQL/Linux/Perl/.NET/Apache/ODBC
201-255-2939  | Cell 551-404-7587 (24 Hours)
NY / NJ Based
 
One last thing, this month's PC Magazine has an extensive article on  
Internet security.  PC Mag did a great job this  month!

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