Linux stands the test of time 415

This was coming almost no matter what. Apple had shown that it was possible and desirable to do a GUI on consumer-clbutt hardware. (X was still effectively limited to academic and high-end business areas and workstation-clbutt hardware.)

There were multiple PC GUI-on-top-of-DOS products on the market (GEM was only one; GEOS was fairly cool and a lot prettier), it was only a question of which one would win. Microsoft had gone through several more-or-less unworkable versions of Windows before this one, and just barely managed, by leveraging DOS, to get people to look at it.

DFS, I've noticed that your 'facts' seem to be seldom more than half right. It wasn't 'later on', it was part of the same case. The judgement against Stac was $13.6 million. (Of course, the judgement against Microsoft was $120 million.)

BTW, the actual matter involved was Stac finding (by standard reverse engineering practices) an undocumented 'hook' into DOS and taking advantage of it. The more I look into the ruling, the less I agree with it. The same logic would have precluded the cloning of IBM's BIOS that was an even more fundamental underpinning of your 'revolution' above. Leaving aside the dubious nature of the term "intellectual property", you have yet to provide a single example of any open-source developer 'stealing' closed-source code for their project, despite being asked multiple times. On the other hand, I can produce many, many examples of companies lifting GPL and other open-source code. (So can you; Google for "gpl violation".)

I don't feel like addressing all of your 'list of theft', but a couple are particularly laughable:

Please specify what Linux 'stole'. (No references to SCO's accusations, please; even the judge in that case has bluntly stated that SCO has not produced any evidence to back them up. Once SCO produces actual evidence, feel free to discuss it. I'm not holding my breath.)

(When specifying this, please explain why what you are alleging is an example of 'theft', but Microsoft's documented incorporation of the BSD TCP-IP stack is not.)

What's this 'stolen' from? Excel? Let me ask you a question: what was the first spreadsheet? (Hint: not Excel.)

By your own definition, Microsoft 'stole' Word, Excel, Access, etc. Your position appears to be completely incoherent.

Please explain what was 'stolen' to make Firefox, I'm genuinely curious how you rationalize that one.

-- Sincerely,

Ray Ingles (313) 227-2317

Joe and Suzanne Werfelman of Sciota, Pa., were shocked to hear from their son, Richard, a 23-year-old law student called up by his military-police unit, that he had been issued a protective vest without the plates that stop automatic-rifle rounds. They bought and shipped the plates themselves, at a cost of $660. ("Support the Troops", indeed.)