James Knott wrote: > Joao Santos wrote: > >> Hello, >> >> My name is Joao, and I was wondering if you could answer me this question: >> >> Can Open Office (and other free/opensource software) be accused of stealing >> the intellectual property of other programs (in O.o.'s case Microsoft >> Office)?? >> >> Does OpenOffice infringe the intellectual property of Microsoft Office? if >> not, why not? >> >> I would be thankful if you could answer me this question. Thanks alot. >> >> >> > Microsoft has often made such claims, but has yet to show any evidence > of it. Until they're prepared to specify what, if anything, is > infringing there's nothing to worry about. > > BTW, MS has a long history of creating "FUD" to discourage people from > using competing products. This is undoubtedly more of the same. > > You may want to read this article about MS & Linux. > http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS9559417024.html > >
I forgot to mention, MS has a long and expensive history of infringing on other companies technology. They are one of the worst in this respect. This goes right back to when Bill Gates sold DOS to IBM before he owned it and then bought QDOS which infringed on CP/M, which then became MS-DOS & PC-DOS. You can even go back to his days at Harvard, when he'd dumpster dive, to get his hands on other people's code and then, contrary to Harvard rules against commercial use, used a computer there to develop BASIC for the Altair 8800. He then accused hobbyists of stealing a paper tape of BASIC and distributing it, apparently forgetting that many who received a copy had paid for Altair BASIC but never received it. Steve Ballmer is a loud mouth idiot and it's long past time for him to put up or shut up. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
