Mark Evans

Whatcha Thinking, Microsoft?

So Microsoft has decided its finally had enough of the whole free software/open source movement chipping away at the franchise. After years of watching products such as Linux and Firefox take market share, Microsoft has come up with a new, innovative strategy: if you can’t beat ‘em, sue ‘em. Microsoft, which has mostly failed to diversify into other businesses despite massive amounts of investment, is claiming that Linux violates more than 200 of its patents, and it wants big-time royalties or watch out.

This is a strategy that smacks of desperation from a strategic and public relations perspective. It’s a move that flies in the face of where technology is heading. Rather than fight the power, Microsoft should be embracing the open-source movement. Maybe Microsoft is scared. Maybe it’s tried to play nice but realized the open-source movement is a tsunami that can only be driven back by its army of legal beagles. Maybe Microsoft has a good legal case here but the idea of going after Linux is bizarre. If Microsoft ever wanted to drive customers into the arms of Linux, Firefox, Open Office, etc. this appears to be a great way to do it.