Redmond, Wash., Jan. 7th, 2007 -- Linux under scrutiny from the US DoJ
The United States Department of Justice (US DoJ) has recently announced
its intention to carry out an inquiry regarding the monopoly of Linux
(NASDAQ: LNUX) and Linux-like systems on the market of computer
operating systems. According to several analysts who expressed their
wish to remain anonymous, Linux has become a de-facto standard by
allegedly using illegal commerce practices:
- free availability of the Linux system and of its derivatives
(AIX, Solaris, DG-UX, BSD/OS, ...)
- under-the-table price agreements ("free")
- use of unpaid volunteers
Usage of the Internet to promote this dominance is highly suspected,
and could be considered as added prosecution material.
This inquiry was initiated following a class-action lawsuit from
several small software editors (Microsoft, Oracle, Netscape, IBM) --
these companies believe their business activities are compromised by
these illegal practices. Most of the above-mentioned plaintiffs have
regrouped under the banner "Windows NT10.0" to offer "...solutions
of superior quality, reliability and performance." On a side note,
Windows NT (WNT) now ships with its complete sources in human-readable
form, which is not the case with recent versions of Linux. Invented
by Microsoft, this is now a proven way to develop quality software.
Endorsement of this concept by Microsoft is stronger than ever, as
shown by their now ubiquitous sticker "100% Pure Sources Inside" (TM).
-- [Written by Pierre Beyssac <pb@hsc.fr>, translated by Pierre and Philippe Regnauld <regnauld@EU.org>.]