"If Linux-OS disables CPRM and it is RE-ENABLED by the "REAL-ROGUE-JAVA" or "LICENSED-APPLICATION-ON-THE-NET" I will file a class action lawsuit against the drive maker, the oem, and every dirty-rotten-!@#$% that damages linux-os and my reputation as an os-writer."

We, in the open source community, have something unique, good and revolutionary. A paradigm shift from a limited to an unlimited world and not just in the software industry. A wide gamut of industries could be improved with an open source development model. We need to get the ball rolling.

This is definitely good for Linux, but it's possible that it may not be so good for some Linux companies. While fears that the sheer scale of IBM's Linux support might enable Big Blue to somehow `hijack' Linux appear to be unfounded, IBM's effort to Linux-enable their large partner base may end up seriously undercutting the pure-play Linux companies.

Microsoft's recent verbal attacks on Linux are likely just the beginning. The best thing it can do is open up its technologies, remove the `free pair of handcuffs' and stop the strategy of `vendor lock-in'. Then it can try to compete with Linux instead of attacking it.

"So, NT is proving a difficult one to shift, as you might expect, and Linux was the top server OS in 2000, with NT second and Win2k third. It's quite plausible that Linux shipped twice as many copies as Win2k server. Is it meaningful that Linux clearly outsold Win2k server? If it happens again in 2001 it certainly will be."

Linux is poised to storm the once-closed world of embedded applications. Its next victory will be in devices ranging from vending machines to Internet appliances. "Now that silicon is cheaper, embedded hardware has come up to meet Linux," says Bill Weinberg, director, marketing for MontaVista Software.

"I met with Jim Allchin because I wanted to ask him face to face what he meant, to see if this was a calculated course of FUD on the part of Microsoft, as many people have concluded, or a misunderstanding of a few remarks taken out of context. Here are a couple of comments I sent to Richard after reviewing a draft of his response."

"Linux companies are, or ought to be, fast and agile. They can stop chasing and start leading. Microsoft is coming after Linux -- let's make 'em chase us all over the place. If Linux is any good -- and it is -- then Microsoft will lose market share at every stop."

"Linux has been struggling to get off the ground as a desktop, competing with the likes of Windows. The world of Linux has changed by season. Currently in the season of Linux weakness, the servers have come under attack when everyone thought it was safe. What is the next season going to be, a serious bug?"

"Thanks to the GNU GPL, I always knew that I could stay competitive in my business, because I would always be able to learn easily about new innovations as soon as they were made. I could innovate quickly, and impress my employers. I even was able to start my own consulting business. My own business! The pinnacle of the American Dream!"