Future Implications: Why Microsoft will fear Google and Linux

Google and Microsoft are at it again. But this time Google is attacking Microsoft for threatening Linux users for patent violations.

In an announcement made earlier this week, Google signed on with the Open Invention Network (OIN), which is supported by Red Hat and a few other Linux heavyweights. The Open Invention Network is an organization designed by and for Linux developers, distributors, sellers, resellers, and end-users to protect them from the onslaught of costly lawsuits or other attempts made on them by bigger and better-funded enterprises. But until Google joined the fray on the side of the OIN, some people were skeptical of the ability of Linux to stand up to Microsoft.

That skepticism is over--Microsoft is in for a rude awakening.

Microsoft and Google are two of the most powerful tech companies you will ever come across. Microsoft carries no debt in its financial structure. Google carries no debt in its financial structure. Microsoft enjoys a $281.26 billion market cap while Google harbors about half that. What does all of this mean? Both companies have lots of cash with high-powered lawyers who are poised to take each other to task. And while I believe this is true and both companies will square off in a courtroom eventually, Microsoft is deathly afraid of Google. Google may not have the cash on hand that Microsoft does, but it has a more advantageous public perception as well as the same contacts and pull with Congress that Bill and his boys have.

If you take a look back at all of the lawsuits Microsoft has been a part of, I don't think you can find me one instance where the company wasn't able to get its way. The federal government tried to take Microsoft to task and even that didn't work!

But the difference between the late '90s and today is that Google wields equal, if not more, power than Microsoft. If Redmond took on the boys at Google, it would be ugly and costly for sure. But regardless of the camp you side with, Google would come out on top.

Microsoft's claim on patent violations is nothing more than glorified bullying in the hopes that the "weak" will raise the white flag. Along with threats of costly lawsuits, Microsoft has also silently hinted that it would accept a closure of the distributions in return for some financial remuneration. But finally Google has stepped in to raise the ante. Why should Microsoft be allowed to bully these Linux developers? An even better question: why does Microsoft bully these developers?

It's very simple: because they could. But with the inclusion of Google in the OIN, could has become the operative word. Microsoft doesn't want to have an all-out battle with Google--it's too costly, and if Google wins, where does Microsoft stand?

But Microsoft's fear of Google goes far beyond Linux and open source. Microsoft is deathly afraid of Google's continued dominance on the stock market, Google's significant control over Web searching and, most important, Google's dominance on Internet advertising. Google represents the future of the technology industry while Microsoft is the past. And while Microsoft knows this and is desperately trying to work its way back to prominence, it has a long way to go, and sparring with Google for a few rounds will not help matters.

Microsoft and Google will have a day to go at each other for everything--the writing is on the wall. But at this point in each company's development cycle, the time for a fight just isn't right for Microsoft, while Google would welcome a knock-down, drag-out. Simply put, a fight between Microsoft and Google would end badly for the former, while the latter would cement itself as the most prominent tech company for the next decade.

As hard to believe as it is, Microsoft is running scared. Courtesy of Google.

Source:www.cnet.com

Google to rescue Linux from Microsoft lawyers

Google has joined the fight to save Linux from an army of patent-waving Microsoft lawyers.

With Redmond threatening to collect royalties from Linux users and distributors across the industry, claiming that the open-source operating system violates 235 of its patents, Google has thrown its considerable weight behind the Open Invention Network (OIN), a consortium of companies bent on protecting open-source software from legal attack.

All OIN members - including big names such as IBM, NEC, Novell, Philips, Red Hat, and Sony, as well as Google - agree not to use their Linux-related patents against each other, and all have free access to a collection of additional open-source-related patents purchased by the consortium as a whole.

"Patent issues...become a much smaller concern inside the community, and OIN members can focus their energy on writing and releasing software rather than vetting their code for intellectual property issues," wrote Google open source programs manager Chris DiBona on The Official Google Blog. "It's the legal equivalent of taking a long, deep breath."

As more names join the OIN, pooling more and more Linux-related patents, it becomes increasingly difficult for a company like Microsoft launch an attack on the OS. "We are very open about our patents," OIN chief executive officer Jerry Rosenthal told The Reg. "We list them on our website, so that people who might want to do Linux harm understand why it would not be in their interest to bring litigation."

Knowing they're protected by the OIN, Google's DiBona argues, open source developers are more likely to drive the industry forward: "We believe Linux innovation moves fastest when developers can share their knowledge with full peace of mind. We're proud to participate in an organization that's making that possible, and we look forward to seeing OIN grow and thrive."

Google is OIN's first "end-user licensee," which means it's the only member who doesn't sell, distribute, or develop Linux code. It only uses the OS within the company.

"Google is such a well-recognized and well-thought-of name, we'll now see other end-users become licensees," said Rosenthal. "We want to continue to grow this ecosystem of patents, so that ultimately a vast majority of [Linux-related] patents will be available to the community for free."

According to DiBona, Google's in-house open-source gurus are fond of saying "Every time you use Google, you're using Linux...Check a Google engineer's workstation, and you'll probably find it's running Linux," he explained. "Do a search on Google.com, and a Linux server will return your results. Ever since Google got its start, Linux has given us the power and flexibility we need to serve millions of users around the world."

That puts the company squarely in the sights of Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith and licensing chief Horacio Gutierrez, who recently told Fortune that Redmond plans to use 235 of its OS patents to collect royalties from Linux users and distributors alike.

To date, the OIN has purchased more than 100 worldwide patents and patent applications involving Linux - and that doesn't include the patents individually owned by its members. The difference, Rosenthal says, is that unlike Microsoft, the OIN is completely open about its patents and uses them strictly for defensive purposes. "Microsoft says they have 200 some Linux patents, but they won't tell us what they are," he told us. "That's just an attempt to spread fear, uncertainty, and doubt. It they tell us what the patents are, then we can deal with it, but they won't. It makes you wonder they really have."

Source:www.channelregister.co.uk