sco-faqs - just getting started

Message ID: 77806
Posted By: walterbyrd
Posted On: 2004-01-05 18:01:00
Subject: sco-faqs - just getting started

I'm just getting started on this. Appreciate comments.

OUTRIGHT LIES
--------------------
- AIX audit
- MIT mathematicians

DUBIOUS CLAIMS
--------------------
- scox website hacked
- scox bought vultus
- Profitable Q4 in 2003

BLUNDERS
--------------------
- Darl's trip to Japan
- Showing the code at ScoForum

SERIOUS THREATS
--------------------
- RedHat lawsuit against scox
- IBM lawsuit against scox

DUBIOUS CONNECTIONS
--------------------
- Canopy
- Duetsch Bank
- Microsoft
- Sun Microsystems

SCOX PUMPERS
--------------------
- Laura Didio
- Robert Enderl
- Danial Lyons

TIME LINE
--------------------
- Jan 12 - Monday
- Jan 26 - Monday
- Jan 30 - Friday

RESOURCES
--------------------
- groklaw.net
- slashdot.org
- osnews.com
- lwn.net/Articles

Message ID: 77808
Posted By: krow10
Posted On: 2004-01-05 18:12:00
Subject: Re: sco-faqs - just getting started

>> OUTRIGHT LIES
>> --------------------
>> - AIX audit
>> - MIT mathematicians
- Boies working on commision (as the term is generally understood)

>> DUBIOUS CLAIMS
>> --------------------
>> - scox website hacked

I'd word this as "SCOX website brought down by DDoS attack." Also, I'd note content changes occuring during these outages.

>> BLUNDERS
>> --------------------
>> - Darl's trip to Japan
>> - Showing the code at ScoForum
- Infringing header files

That's my comments for now.

Cheers,
Craig

Message ID: 77810
Posted By: diogenese19348
Posted On: 2004-01-05 18:20:00
Subject: Re: sco-faqs - just getting started

Walter, Under OUTRIGHT LIES add:

-Boies on contingency
-Linux Licenses Sold (To anyone)
-Invoices sent (August)
-Linux Licences available (August - September)
-Million lines of Unix in Linux

Jury still out, but probably LIES:

-Sue a Linux End User by 2/28/04
-DCMA letters mailed
-6,000 compliance letters mailed

Message ID: 77811
Posted By: walterbyrd
Posted On: 2004-01-05 18:22:00
Subject: Re: sco-faqs - just getting started

OUTRIGHT LIES
--------------------
- contingency arrangement with their lawyers.
- non-compete clause in the Novell agreement.
- source code they displayed at SCOForum (it might have been considered an honest mistake,

if Sontag hadn't continued to dispute what was already irrefutably proven).
- letters about the "infringing" header files. The header files are provably original and

are noncopyrightable in any event.
- "MIA" MIT mathematician-cum-Estes-model-rocket-scientists. Either SCO lied to the public

(saying they existed) or SCO lied to the court (saying they didn't exist).
- AIX audits
- claiming that they have revoked ibm's right to sell, support, or use AIX.
- Linux licenses SCO claims they sold in August to a Fortune 500 company that was not MS or

SUN
- "several" other Linux license sales SCO has claimed to have made since the first.
- the introductory price for licenses that was to increase on Oct 15
- countercharges SCO claimed it would file against RedHat for copyright infringment and

conspiracy
- SCO was going to appeal the fine imposed in Germany

DUBIOUS CLAIMS
--------------------
- SCOX website brought down by DDoS attack
- scox bought vultus
- Profitable Q4 in 2003

BLUNDERS
--------------------
- Darl's trip to Japan
- Showing the code at ScoForum

SERIOUS THREATS
--------------------
- RedHat lawsuit against scox
- IBM lawsuit against scox

DUBIOUS CONNECTIONS
--------------------
- Canopy
- Duetsch Bank
- Microsoft
- Sun Microsystems

SCOX PUMPERS
--------------------
- Laura Didio
- Robert Enderl
- Danial Lyons

TIME LINE
--------------------
- Jan 12 - Monday
- Jan 26 - Monday
- Jan 30 - Friday

RESOURCES
--------------------
- groklaw.net
- slashdot.org
- osnews.com
- lwn.net/Articles

Message ID: 77854
Posted By: walterbyrd
Posted On: 2004-01-05 22:13:00
Subject: Re: sco-faqs - part 1

scox-faq

Here is what I have so far, still a lot to do. Will eventually post to a web-site so pumper can't change it, and so it'll fit.

OUTRIGHT LIES
--------------------
- contingency arrangement with their lawyers.
- non-compete clause in the Novell agreement.
- source code they displayed at SCOForum (it might have been considered an honest mistake, if Sontag hadn't continued to dispute what was already irrefutably proven).
- letters about the "infringing" header files. The header files are provably original and are noncopyrightable in any event.
- MIT mathematician. Either SCO lied to the public (saying they existed) or SCO lied to the court (saying they didn't exist).
- AIX audits. Scox claimed that would audit AIX users.
- claiming that they have revoked ibm's right to sell, support, or use AIX.
- Linux licenses SCO claims they sold in August to a Fortune 500 company that was not MS or SUN
- "several" other Linux license sales SCO has claimed to have made since the first.
- the introductory price for licenses that was to increase on Oct 15
- countercharges SCO claimed it would file against RedHat for copyright infringment and conspiracy
- SCO was going to appeal the fine imposed in Germany
- RHAT opposes software copyrights (Darl's open letter)
- Entire sales force selling Linux "licenses"

DUBIOUS CLAIMS
--------------------
- Sue a Linux End User by 2/28/04. What are they waiting for? Other than earning release?
- DCMA letters mailed.
- 6,000 compliance letters mailed.
- SCOX website brought down by DDoS attack.
- scox "bought" vultus. One canopy company swapping stock with another.
- Profitable Q4 in 2003. scox counts one time revenue, but does doesn't count one time expenses.
- SCO owns Unix. Except for the copyrights, trademark, and patents.
- GPL unconstitutional. Unique legal theory. Classic "ad hoc" argument. When your original argument doesn't work, you just keep adding to it until it does work.
- End users liable for IP infringement in Linux, if any. Another unique legal theory. There are no copyright violations filed, so end-users can't be guilty of copyright violation. Linux end-users don't have a contract with scox, so it can't be trade secrets.

BLUNDERS
--------------------
- Darl's trip to Japan. Built up in the pop-media for weeks. Darl, would speak Japanesse, and all those big Japanesse companies would pay for a bogus "linux licence." Japanesse companies had other ideas.
- Showing the code at ScoForum. Biggest joke in the entire fiaSCO. Built up in the media for weeks. Scox's claims of "infringing code" was debunked within an hour. Interesting enough, scox shares went from $10 to $15 within three sessessions of scox's great "evidence" being bogus.

report

Message ID: 77855
Posted By: walterbyrd
Posted On: 2004-01-05 22:14:00
Subject: Re: sco-faqs - part 2

SERIOUS THREATS
--------------------
- RedHat lawsuit against scox. Unlike canopy/scox, redhat doesn't go around filing frivilous lawsuits.
- IBM lawsuit against scox. IBM is suing over patents which nobody disputes that ibm owns.
- Copyright infringement suits by all Linux contributors.

DUBIOUS CONNECTIONS
--------------------
- Canopy Group, owns 40% of scox, essentially the same company.
- Angel Investors. Very closely associated with canopy group, and the Mormon Church.
- Duetsch Bank.
- Microsoft.
- Sun Microsystems.
- Hewlett Packard.
- Baystar & Royal Bank of Canada. PIPE deal.

SCOX PUMPERS
--------------------
- Laura Didio. Yankee group.
- Robert Enderl.
- Danial Lyons. Forbes.
- Jonathan Cohen. Royce Funds.
- Brian Skiba. Duetsch Bank.

TIME LINE
--------------------
- Jan 12 - Monday: scox has to have provided IBM specific evidence of scox's grounds for their lawsuit.
- Jan 26 - Monday: ibm has to accept or reject the evidence provided by scox.
- Jan 30 - Friday: scox Q1 ends. If no fud money by then, scox's Q1 will be a dissaster.
- Feb 27 - Friday: last business day for scox to name linux ender that scox will sue, also, I expect scox will have announced earning by this date.

RESOURCES
--------------------
- groklaw.net
- slashdot.org
- osnews.com
- lwn.net/Articles
- Decatur

Message ID: 77956
Posted By: walterbyrd
Posted On: 2004-01-06 10:50:00
Subject: faq - scox's outright lies. Part #1

Just the outright lies part is now too long for a single post. Please let me know what you think.

1) Lie: SCO will revoke IBM's rights to sell, distribute, or use UNIX.
Truth: SCO does not have the authority to revoke IBM's UNIX rights.

2) Lie: SCO will audit AIX users.
Truth: SCO never did such an audit, and has no rights to do such an audit.

3) Lie: SCO owns C++.
Truth: SCO may own a very old obsolete version.

4) Lie: The Berkeley Packet Filter code in Linux is "obfuscated" SCO code.
Truth: Jay Schulist, who never had access to SCO code, implemented it from scratch.

5) Lie: We've gone in, we've done a deep dive into Linux, we've compared the source code of Linux with UNIX every which way but Tuesday
Truth: Experts have shown that SCO used a simple, primitive text search based on a few keywords.

6) Lie: The IP protection legal team is on pure contingency
Truth: The legal team is billing at a 2/3 discounted rate with the possibility of contingent commissions

7) Lie: We will show rock solid evidence at SCOForum in Las Vegas
Truth: SCO was quickly shown to not have any ownership of the SCOForum evidence. The source code displayed at SCOForum might have been considered an honest mistake, if Sontag hadn't continued to dispute what was already irrefutably proven.

8) Lie: We've gone in, we've done a deep dive into Linux, we've compared the source code of Linux with UNIX every which way but Tuesday
Truth: Experts have shown that SCO used a simple, primitive text search based on a few keywords.

9) Lie: SCO's 2002 UNIX source release was "non-commercial" and excludes 32-bit code
Truth: "The text of the letter, sent January 23, 2002, by Bill Broderick, Director of Licensing Services for Caldera [now SCO], in fact makes no mention of "non-commercial use" restrictions, does not include the words "non-commercial use" anywhere and specifically mentions "32-bit 32V Unix" as well as the 16-bit versions."

10) Lie: non-compete clause in the Novell agreement.
Truth: no such clause.

11) Lie: SCO claims that Linux header files are "infringing code."
Truth: The header files are provably original and are noncopyrightable in any event.

12) Lie: We have been off meeting for the last several months with large corporate Linux end users. The pipeline is very healthy there.
Truth: The pipeline is empty. All inquiries have been to assess SCO's claims and liability exposure.

13) Lie: SCO's expert witnesses are "MIT Mathematicians".
Truth: Among various backpedaling statements, Paul Hatch, a SCO spokesman, wrote in a statement to The Tech ,"'To clarify, the individuals reviewing the code had been involved with MIT labs in the past, but are not currently at MIT." ither SCO lied to the public (saying they existed) or SCO lied to the court (saying they didn't exist).

14) Lie: (To the Utah Judge on 12/5) SCO will make a copyright claim in two days, but no longer than a week
Truth: Many weeks later and a copyright claim has not yet been made.

15) Lie: Last August SCO claimed to have sold Linux licenses to a Fortune 500 company that was not MS or SUN.
Truth: According to SCO's SEC filings, that never happend.

16) Lie: "several" other Linux license sales SCO has claimed to have made since the first.
Truth: According to SCO's SEC filings, that never happend.

Message ID: 77957
Posted By: walterbyrd
Posted On: 2004-01-06 10:51:00
Subject: faq - scox's outright lies. Part #2

17) Lie: the introductory price for licenses that was to increase on Oct 15
Truth: Once again, SCO changed their minds.

18) Lie: SCO claimed it would file against RedHat for copyright infringment and conspiracy
Truth: No such charges were filed

19) Lie: SCO was going to appeal the fine imposed in Germany.
Truth: that never happend.

20) Lie: RedHat opposes software copyrights (Darl's open letter).
Truth: unlike SCO, RedHat respects copyrights.

21) Lie: entire sales force selling Linux "licenses."
Truth: no evidence of any "Linux licenses" being sold.

22) Lie: Invoices will be mailed to Linux users by October 15, 2003
Truth: No invoices were ever mailed.

23) Lie: SCO did not know of code additions.
Truth: SCO was participant in process and many additions were made by SCO employees.

24) Lie: SCO received the D&T Fast 500 recognition because of the strong UNIX market, IP enforcement and the Web services strategy
Truth: SCO made the list because of revenue growth due exclusively to the Tarantula acquisition.

25) Lie: SCO's 2002 UNIX source release was "non-commercial" and excludes 32-bit code
Truth: "The text of the letter, sent January 23, 2002, by Bill Broderick, Director of Licensing Services for Caldera [now SCO], in fact makes no mention of "non-commercial use" restrictions, does not include the words "non-commercial use" anywhere and specifically mentions "32-bit 32V Unix" as well as the 16-bit versions."

26) Lie: We have been off meeting for the last several months with large corporate Linux end users. The pipeline is very healthy there.
Truth: The pipeline is empty. All inquiries have been to assess SCO's claims and liability exposure.

27) Lie: We have done additional signups for Linux end-user licenses. We have a number of folks that are in the evaluation process, and we definitely have a lot of interest in what's going on there.
Truth: During the earnings conference, SCO admitted that not a single Linux end-user license has been sold. Follow-on guidance comments warn that no such sales are expected in Q1.

28) Lie: Our claims are not trivial.
Truth: Based on evidence provided to date, SCO's claims are extremely trivial, debunked in a matter of hours

29) Lie: claims that SCO has are both broad and deep.
Truth: SCO's has made a breach of contract claim and a copyright infringement claim; all evidence presented to date has shown each of these claims to be trivial and unfounded

30) Lie: These claims touch not, just not IBM, but other vendors as well.
Truth: Exhaustive code reviews by other SYSV licensees, including HP and SGI, have shown that the only Linux/SysV overlap concerns a small amount of public domain code.

31) Lie: During the recent road tour, Blake Stowell indicated that core operations were profitable in Q3.
Truth: Core operations lost $3.8MM in Q3-03.

32) Lie: We have done additional signups for Linux end-user licenses. We have a number of folks that are in the evaluation process, and we definitely have a lot of interest in what's going on there.
Truth: During the earnings conference, SCO admitted that not a single Linux end-user license has been sold. Follow-on guidance comments warn that no such sales are expected in Q1.

33) Lie: Boies was compensated $1.6M for a contingent event
Truth: The engagement agreement specifically excludes heritage UNIX OEM license deals; Boies is being compensated 20% of the $8MM Microsoft license deal, which is a follow-on extension of the first deal, a UNIX license deal not eligible as a contingent event.

The texts of these Yahoo Message Board posts have been licensed for copying and distribution by the Yahoo Message Board users "walterbyrd", "krow10", "diogenese19348" under the following license: License: CCL Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike v2.0.