Open source is in jeopardy
ZDNet | at | by Mike
Over the past several years, corporate America has warmed to open-source software programs such as the Linux operating system and the Apache Web server. Today, software from the open-source community, a worldwide group of developers who share their code freely with one another, competes head-to-head with programs from industry titans such as Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. However, a legal battle between the Utah-based SCO Group and IBM could throw cold water on the relationship.
SCO is suing IBM for billions of dollars claiming that Big Blue took code from SCO's Unix operating system and added it to Linux. SCO has since revoked IBM's license to use its AIX version of Unix and requested that the judge permanently halt IBM's entire Unix business. Unfortunately for those watching the case, the facts are extremely complex and SCO has been tight-lipped about its evidence. The result is that analysts have pronounced the case everything from the "the end of Linux" to a "complete farce."