Written by: Dan HinojosaMon, 20 Nov 2006 04:06 PM PST .
Filed Under: LinuxSun MicrosystemsCrimeMicrosoftJavaSteve Ballmer

I was listening to the November 17th Buzz Out Loud, a C-Net podcast, in which they reported some very disturbing news. Steve Ballmer of Microsoft is making a claim that all Linux distros uses our intellectual property. The deal is that if you use SuSe Linux, then you are off the hook for violating copyright. Think of this as a modern day indulgence from St. Redmond's Square.

Now, because of this news, I have to reflect on what a good job Sun did in deflecting Microsoft from violating Java's rules and regulations by not providing a constant cross platform VM. Hypothetically, if the Sun lawsuit had not been won, I can assure you that there would be an announcement from Ballmer condemning all non-Microsoft Java VM programmers of violating Microsoft’s copyright for any features from any Microsoft Java version that may have seeped into Sun's Java version.