The barrage of criticism against McBride's company makes one wonder what lies ahead for SCO, with or without retribution from the US legal system.
Anti-Linux strikes, like this, are abhorrent to open-source fans but McBride, president and CEO of SCO, has since shifted the spotlight to his lawyers. He said law firm Boies Schiller & Flexner, which is representing the company in its lawsuit against IBM, was behind to move to issue warning letters to nearly 1,500 enterprise users.
The open-source community views SCO's intellectual property infringement claims as a move to scuttle the development of Linux and warn that SCO will get its comeuppance.
But the $64,000 question is how large corporate entities are reacting. Most companies and IT managers ZDNet Australia spoke to scoffed at SCO's claims, saying Linux is here to stay. Period.
Take Air New Zealand as an example. In 2002, the carrier switched its Windows NT servers to IBM mainframes running Linux--150 Compaq servers replaced by one IBM z800, and 4,000 Microsoft Exchange clients with Bynari, an open-source e-mail application.
Despite the latest development, the airline remains committed to Linux.
"We strongly support open source initiatives," Air New Zealand spokesman Cameron Hill told ZDNet Australia . He said the company won't be reviewing current and future Linux-based projects.
Air New Zealand's stance echoes the Meta Group's advice to Linux customers.
"I think it's an unfortunate turn of events for Linux but nevertheless, users should look at the overall risk profile...I would advise them to continue with what they're doing [but] check with the application provider and check your licensing contracts," said Dr Kevin McIsaac, research director for Asia-Pacific at Meta.
McIsaac says customers need to ask themselves if SCO's claims are FUD or otherwise.
Even if there's merit in SCO's claims, will it help Unix in any way? Or would companies choose BSD or any of the Windows flavours as alternatives? Please send all comments and opinions to edit@zdnet.com.au.
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