April 15, 2004

Open source insurance - There's an interesting article on Salon.com today about how the open source community is dealing with SCO legal attacks -- a new company has sprung up to sell insurance for companies that use Linux to cover the costs of legal battles should they arise. Even more interesting is how the principles of open source are being used to mount the defense.
  • What? No geeks in the audience? :)~
  • I think it's ad aversion, Kimberly. We all drink too much coffee to sit through Salon's sponsorship messages. If it's any comfort, I've bookmarked it for when I've come down enough not to gnaw my mouse during the ad.
  • I read it, and I thought it was an interesting article, but it's not my area of expertise, and since I couldn't offer more than a visceral "SCO is evil" (which we all knew already) I figured I'd let somebody else make the insightful and/or witty commentary. But it's worth reading. I have to wonder, however, at all the litigation expense that SCO is undertaking: it's not cheap for them, either. Considering how much of a "shaky reed" they are relying on, aren't they going to run out of money soon enough? or are they secretly funded by the evil empire of the north?
  • or are they secretly funded by the evil empire of the north? Some people say that's so.
  • I read it because I'm a salon premium subscriber. But I'm not much of a software geek.
  • I subscribed because $30 was worth avoiding the day pass -- and because after all the magazine subscriptions they give you, which you can refuse for the price of the subscription, it ended up giving me money back. I'm not really a Linux geek or anything, I thought it was interesting from the "open source movement" point of view. And because my fiance and brother are very much Linux geeks and I have to talk to them about something.
  • I rather like the lack of Linux fanboys hereon. All apologies to your fiancé, natch.
  • I'm a total linux fangirl, as long as I have someone clever around to help when the going gets tough. Went to LinuxWorld in 2000, scored a squeezy Tux and a travel mug. :) Okay, okay, so I only went for the free stuff. Geek conventions have the COOLEST giveaways.