IBM should assume software risks

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Julie Giera, do you have a clue what you're talking about?

This is the most useless story I'be seen in a while. Indemnification is the biggest joke ever to hit the software industry.

How many copyright/patent infringement cases are pending against OSS? How many have there been? How many do you expect to see in the next 10 years? are the answers to these questions none, none, none?

Answer those same questions for M$. Is the answer to that question nobody can count them all? Who is at risk?

-----For the average company, the risks are still quite slim, in our opinion, that legal action would be filed for copyright issues that revolve around commercial off-the-shelf software. The sheer costs of such sweeping legal action would be tremendous, and frankly, small companies do not have the kinds of assets to make such litigation very profitable.-----

Here's a clue for you. Linux is an off-the-shelf commercial software operating system. Take a trip to CompUSA and have a look.

Here's another clue. Linux and OSS are not the same. That would be saying Photoshop is the same as M$. Oh, yeah, since so many OSS products run on M$ I'd guess you are also saying M$ users face the same risks. Is that accurate?

Clue number three: IBM didn't write the software. So why are the risks any greater than they are for any other small software company? Saying IBM is responsible would be akin to saying Best Buy is responsible for every piece of software they sold. IBM redistributes software, same as Best Buy. Why would the risks be any different?

When the meaningless discussion of indemnification comes up all the reporters and analysts that make money selling dumb stories conveniently forget M$ claim authorship to all their applications. That makes them directly responsible for all of it. Redhat, Mandrake, SuSE, IBM, etc... simply redistribute software, same as Office Depot, CompUSA and any other retail outlet. It's a totally different scenario. The same rules don't apply. Of course, that never stopped an M$ shill from crowing loudly some meaningless verbiage.

----In the worst-case scenario, a customer might spend two years developing entire suites of business applications and associated business processes only to be told a year later that there has been an infringement of copyrights and the customer must either uninstall the applications or pay huge fines and fees.------

Do you mean like the risks the users of M$ SQL are now facing? Did you forget that little tidbit? Or, how about the patent infringement suit M$ just lost for their theft of security components? That one slip your mind, too?

----We have heard from numerous IBM customers that the company's failure to offer some level of indemnification on software such as WebSphere has forced them to consider alternative solutions. This is certainly a viable approach if competitive options exist in the marketplace. ----

If it's not too much to ask, please tell us who these companies are. I've heard of no such decisions. Give us a link, not M$ FUD.

What would be refreshing to see is a story about Linux/OSS that was not so heavily biased that is is obviously funded by M$. Are the reporters at ZDNet totally incapable of objective reporting? Does your business depend so heavily on M$ advertising dollars that they dictate every story you publish? Really, can't you people do a little investigating before published glossed-over M$ soundbytes and press releases?

Will you now give us a follow-up and tell us about the wonderous indemnification M$ is offering? Tell us how M$ will step in and pick up the tab when some M$ SQL developer is slapped with a lawsuit. Tell us how M$ lied to it's customers and left them all hanging out in the breeze. Tell us how M$ is responsible for all the lost time, data and money because it's inherently defective product is a conduit to a company's network for the flood of virus attacks occuring daily. Tell us how M$ will gladly give you back your $90.00 when you are faced with a $10 million lawsuit and even send a corporate lawyer to court to enter a plea of guilty for you. That is, provided you buy your software directly from M$. All you Dell customers, M$ is still laughing all the way to the bank. And so is Dell.

While you're at it, tell us how all of M$ customers are able to check the history of every piece of code M$ distributes.

I certainly hope you were paid a small fortune for this story. That's what it would take to get me to sign my name to National Enquirer grade material.

Posted by: zd-spam   Posted on: 10/27/03 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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