|
|
| The PointServe Subpoena - IPx and MIT |
 |
|
Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 06:07 AM EST
|
If you remember, we told you in mid-December that IBM had filed a certificate of service for a subpoena on PointServe, #354 on Pacer. We have the subpoena [PDF] now, so we can tell you what it asks PointServe to produce.
Frank Sorenson spotted at the time that the CEO of PointServe and its Chief Scientist had previously been at MIT's Lincoln Laboratory. Had the MIT deep divers surfaced at last? I think the subpoena will show you that IBM must at least think it's worth asking. Here are three of the items on their list of things PointServe have to produce: 7. All documents concerning any and all services performed for, on behalf of, or in conjunction with SCO and/or Canopy, including but not limited to any and all source code or technology comparisons or analyses.
8. All documents concerning any and all products, tools, or software created, marketed, or patented for, on behalf of, or in conjunction with SCO and/or Canopy, including but not limited to all source code comparison tools or products (including but not limited to the product known as IPx).
9. All code (in source and executable form) for any and all products, tools or software created, marketed, or patented for, on behalf of, or in conjunction with SCO and/or Canopy, including but not limited to all source code comparison tools or products (including but not limited to the product known as IPx). It looks like Frank nailed it.
They mention something called IPx, and so this link (http://www.concentricequity.com/team.html), now only available in Google cache, is of interest, because it says this about the CEO of PointServe: Dr. Powell is a co-founder of several technology companies including PointServe, IntraMicron and IPX. He is a general partner of Auburn Ventures, LLC, a venture capital firm specializing in University technology transfer. Prior to this, he was a member of the technical staff at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory.
PointServe, as we told you then, is a company that had the honor to have Darl McBride as CEO prior to his stint at Franlin Covey, and it currently has the honor to have Mike Anderer, McBride's old friend, on the board. This software partner page lists Microsoft, Oracle, and Sun. Anderer is the fellow who approached Microsoft for money on SCO's behalf, leading to the BayStar investment, and then his memo complaining about not getting his fair share ended up leaked to Eric Raymond, after which he told the world that Microsoft's strategy against Linux would be to sue and sue over patents.
Here's what the IBM subpoena tells PointServe to provide to IBM, and note numbers 5 and 6 specifically ask about Microsoft. Number 1 seems to be seeking information on any advice or analysis PointServe may have provided above and beyond just software code analysis, and -- this part is just a guess -- I'm thinking IBM might be looking for something that indicates PointServe told SCO it is on thin ice, maybe, which might explain the MIT guys disappearing into thin air after all the public boasting was over and it was time to show the proof. It also might explain all the SCO doubletalk about software comparison tools not being up to the job and 25,000 man years being needed instead:
***************************** ATTACHMENT A TO SUBPOENA TO POINTSERVE, INC.
You are instructed to produce the following documents at the time and place specified in the subpoena.
Documents To Be Produced
1. All documents concerning this Lawsuit (including SCO's claims and IBM's defenses and counterclaims), including but not limited to all documents concerning: (a) SCO's alleged evidence in support of its claims; and (b) any statement, affidavit, declaration, analysis, assessment or opinion concerning this Lawsuit or SCO's alleged rights or evidence.
2. All documents concerning any and all communications with SCO and/or Canopy.
3. All documents concerning any and all meetings with SCO and/or Canopy,
4. All documents concerning any and all agreements or understandings (written or oral) with or relating to SCO and/or Canopy.
5. All documents concerning any and all communications with Microsoft Corp. ("Microsoft") regarding Unix, Linux, SCO and/or Canopy.
6. All documents concerning any and all meetings involving Microsoft regarding Unix, Linux, SCO and/or Canopy.
7. All documents concerning any and all services performed for, on behalf of, or in conjunction with SCO and/or Canopy, including but not limited to any and all source code or technology comparisons or analyses.
8. All documents concerning any and all products, tools, or software created, marketed, or patented for, on behalf of, or in conjunction with SCO and/or Canopy, including but not limited to all source code comparison tools or products (including but not limited to the product known as IPx).
9. All code (in source and executable form) for any and all products, tools or software created, marketed, or patented for, on behalf of, or in conjunction with SCO and/or Canopy, including but not limited to all source code comparison tools or products (including but not limited to the product known as IPx).
|
|
|
|
| Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 07:19 AM EST |
IBM nailed it! [ Reply to This | # ]
|
- Re Oracle - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 07:38 AM EST
- OT - I swear! - Authored by: Totosplatz on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 08:13 AM EST
- Journalism prize in the Economist - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 08:53 AM EST
- Microsoft's Longhorn OS Faces Antitrust Scrutiny - Authored by: feldegast on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:01 AM EST
- vunet article on M$ claims: Linux security is a 'myth' - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:55 AM EST
- parent is mine (n/t) - Authored by: gumnos on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:59 AM EST
- vunet article on M$ claims: Linux security is a 'myth' - Authored by: Ninthwave on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:01 AM EST
- vunet article on M$ claims: Linux security is a 'myth' - Authored by: Rob M on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:14 AM EST
- vunet article on M$ claims: Linux security is a 'myth' - Authored by: oldgreybeard on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:25 AM EST
- vunet article on M$ claims: Linux security is a 'myth' - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:36 AM EST
- vnunet article: M$ fuds: Linux security is a 'myth' - Authored by: MathFox on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:39 AM EST
- vunet article is rubbish, but . . . - Authored by: emmenjay on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:26 PM EST
- Patches and upgrades - Authored by: cmc on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 02:01 PM EST
- Not ready for mission-critical? - Authored by: cmc on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 02:08 PM EST
- vunet article on M$ claims: Linux security is a 'myth' - Authored by: darkonc on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 01:17 AM EST
- vunet article: UserFriendly cartoon - Authored by: elhaard on Sunday, January 30 2005 @ 04:20 AM EST
- Bill Gates: 'all-out war' against Net crime - Authored by: MathFox on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:22 AM EST
- Suggestion on lamlaw - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:54 AM EST
- Legal fights over Canopy ousted board members - Authored by: MathFox on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:55 AM EST
- Bitter struggle to control company Yarrow and Mott sue SCO - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:16 AM EST
- Friends From School - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:15 PM EST
- Clicky Linky - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:24 PM EST
- OT here - Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 31 2005 @ 01:40 PM EST
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 07:32 AM EST |
| One more nail in the coffin! [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 07:34 AM EST |
| [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: fudisbad on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 07:52 AM EST |
Pointserve were supposed to produce the documents on the 23rd of December. Now
more than a month later, we haven't seen any sign of the documents except a
certificate of service [367].
Is there nothing to see in those docs? What was produced? There could be some
pretty damning evidence in there for certain corporate puppet masters...
---
See my bio for copyright details re: this post.
This subliminal message has been brought to you by Microsoft.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 08:25 AM EST |
| Having my morning coffee and started wondering, what if this reveals Microsoft's
hands are more dirty then previously believed? Ah, to dream..This is all
speculative but I look forward to see what this reveals and IBM's next move.
I'll have to grab some popcorn, sit back and watch how this movie turns out.
BTW, Pam when's that book coming out?
-Foo
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: chrisbrown on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:35 AM EST |
I remember when the Anderer email was leaked there was some conjecture about
what IPX this referred to: "4) On the patent side for IPX, where
foes that fit
it. I am working with the lawyers to get these moved from
provisional to more
complete in the next week. I think it will spawn at least 3
patents. Ed and I
are the inventors on these. What do we fo
here" At the time there
was some thoughts IPX referred to the
network protocol. Now it's clear this was
referring to a software comparison
tool. We also know the "Ed" mentioned must
be Dr. G. Edward Powell. I'd
wager it was more Dr. Powell's tool with
results interpreted by Mr. Anderer.
Over the past couple of years we've been
given some indication of Mr. Anderer's
ability to interpret facts. [ Reply to This | # ]
|
- Good suggestion - Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:47 AM EST
| |
| Authored by: chrisbrown on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 09:41 AM EST |
The subpoena asks for "Documents" but never specified emails or other
electronic communications. I've always considered the term to refer to printed
media. Is this an oversight by IBM? Or does the term "Documents"
sufficiently require such communication?[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: dacii on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 10:17 AM EST |
Can someone help with what laws may have been broke if IBM receives evidence of
Microsoft, Canopy, Sun, and or Oracle's involvement? I'm not aware of what laws
apply. If they donated money or purchased IP licenses how would this be
illegal. I understand that this is not right but I fail to see legally what
actions IBM could take. I know it would be bad for M$ because of anti-monopoly
anti-competitive behavior, but how would the others be in trouble? I have no
legal knoweldge, as you can see - I'm just a computer tech.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:08 AM EST |
If PointServe had done an analysis for SCO, should (or should n't) SCO have
already produced it?
What about the January 12th Tibbitts affidavit, or April 19th Sontag affidavit?
(please point out if you see any reference to such an analysis in these
affidavits)
What about SCO's response to IBM's summary judgment motion on their copyright
non-infringement counterclaim? Wouldn't it be here?
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 11:34 AM EST |
It seems likely, given the late date of the Point Serve supeona that it
initiation was the outgrowth of the answer to a deposition question.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: kawabago on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 12:39 PM EST |
How many people are really really sorry they ever met Darl McBride.
---
Life is funnier from the far end.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: stats_for_all on Saturday, January 29 2005 @ 01:06 PM EST |
| Darl McBride, during his brief stint as CEO of PointServe, concluded a
$50MM
financing deal which included a reciprocal advertising buy. The deal
broke
down quickly and PointServe filed suit weeks after McBride's return to
Utah
against Cox Cable to escape the ad buy obligation. Morgan Keegan, later
involved in raising money for SCOX, was the broker on this
deal.
Pointserve is a Austin Texas startup founded about 1997 (under the
name
Epicron) by former MIT rocket scientist's G. Edward Powell and Mark T.
Lane.
Powell and Lane joined Rick Bayless who had just sold Max Serv (a service
company) to Sears. Together they secured $5.7MM from Dennis Murphree
Ventures, Service Master and the Southern Union Gas company to build a
customer service application.
McBride was hired as CEO in April, 1999
following a period of layoffs. A clear
directive was to secure additional
venture funding and pave the way for an
IPO. He departed from the companies
original focus by advocating a web
portal/online advertising strategy. Midway
through his 14 month sojurn a
$50MM funding deal was announced. The
principals were Cox Enterprises
(now Cox Cable), US West Dex (Qwest yellow
pages division), and
SCOOT.com. All three were involved in online yellow pages
initiatives. In the
case of the Cox sub-deal, PointServe was to purchase
$10MM in advertising
from Cox in exchange for the (approx $30MM)
capital investment.
All three new investors were permitted seats on the
PointServe board, and a
Cox representative served briefly.
Pointserve was
reported in 2003 to have earned a paltry $6MM over the
course of its
existence. Press releases have identified software customers
identical with
those identified as investors: Southern Union Gas and
ServiceMaster.
Peter
H. Kelley the SUG COO and his suborbdinates, , formerly served on the
PointServe Board. Southern Union Gas used PointServe to purchase Servana
(another SUG investment) in 2001. A special feature of this transaction is the
benefit it paid Dennis Thomas, former chairman of the Texas Public Utilities
Commission (now on the PS advisory board).
Mike Anderer (S2 Partners, LLC)
has recently secured a seat on the PointServe
Board of directors. SUG
representatives are now absent, as are
representatives from Murphree Ventures
whom also formerly served.
The ascension of Anderer to the board raises the
question of what financial
role the McBride//Anderer axis continues to play in
the company. The
investment of Scoot.com has been written down to zero, but is
still
outstanding (Dec, 2003) and available for sale. Anderer and Greg Shaw of
Initiate may have been brought in to market the company shell in exchange
for
stock.
The other 3 board members (Powell, Logwinuk (sp), and Charles aka
Rick (?)
Bayless have been associated together since before the 1997 founding.
A
Columbia, SC (Anderers stomping ground) connection exists in the divisional
AOL Service deal announced in 2002.
Oddly, two board names Gregory Logwinuk
(not Lok) and Rick Bayless (not
Charles) appear in corrupt form on the Board of
Directors web page. (Charles
Bayless is a retired Dynergy exec) Rick Bayless
the longtime Powell associate.
A Thomas Meredith is on the advisory board, I
believe this is former CFO of
Dell, now acting as private investor.
Researching PointServe, I came on a reference to a lawsuit filed against
the
company on 4/14/03 for stealing and distributing another companies source
code.
From the Austin Business Journal article:
During the
fall of 2000, PointServe was struggling with its mobile workforce
software,
according to the suit, and decided to scrap its version of the
technology and
replace it with Brazen's.
The suit claims PointServe offered to buy Brazen
in late 2000 and agreed on
a fair market value of $9 million. Brazen's
founders licensed exclusively,
without royalties, the source code to
PointServe, the suit states.
Brazen's founders allege they discovered
recently that PointServe breached
the merger agreement and the license
agreement by wrongfully disclosing
Brazen's source code to Southern Union Co.,
a PointServe investor and
customer.
"In the software industry a
developer's software source code is his very life-
blood," the suit states.
"Disclosing software source code is the equivalent of
giving away a company's
most valuable assets."
SOURCE Austin
BizJournal 4/14/2003
Sources and Dates
TimeLine
1997 Epicron
founded, superceeds (?) Wintel, Inc
1998 Pointserve (aka Epicron) raises
$5.7MM from Murphree, ServiceMaster,
Southern Union Gas.
November 1998
Frank Jackson laid off, later files suit alleging discrimination
and securities
fraud
1999 (?) Name change to PointServe
April, 1999 Darl McBride
appointed CEO
Feb. 9, 2000 Pointserve raises $50MM in 3rd round from Cox
Enterprises,
Scoot.com and US West Dex (Qwest)
July 2000 Darl McBride
leaves Pointserve
Sept 19, 2000 PointServe sues Cox Enterprises over
$10MM round trip ad buy
November 2000 PointServe purchases Brazen Software
for $9MM in
Pointserve stock
Dec 2000 Scoot.com fully writes off value
of Pointserve stock
April 27, 2001 Pointserve puchases Servana from
Southern Union investors
Spring 2001 Layoffs
Sept 4, 2001 Southern
Union deal
Nov 2001 layoffs
March 3, 2002 layoffs
April 2002
Colombia SC AOL division selects PointServe
Dec 2002 Brazen software spun
off with Rick Bayless, CEO
March 2003 Former Brazen owners sue for theft of
trade secrets
June 2004 (?) Mike Anderer (S2 Partners) becomes director
Aug. 4, 2004 PointServe announces Servicemaster deal
Links to
Research
www.pointserve.com/company_board.shtml
www.pointserve.com/company_management.shtml
Cox suit: [Travis County District Court, Cause No. GN0-02774]
Brazen suit:[Travis County District Court, Cause No. GN
-1300836]
Colomb
ia SC software buy
S
keptical review of Southern Gas deals with pointserve
CFO history
August, 1999 Greg Logwinuk,CFO
Oct 1999 Dave Cary appointed CFO
May 2002
Bob Smith appointed CFO
Sept 2004 Greg Logwinuk,CFO
Unknown:
William M. Custer dba as Custer Capital / Capvest / LoneStar / Columbus
Internet invests in Pointserve (probably 2nd round ?). This is a Columbus or
New Albany Ohio local VC. [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, January 31 2005 @ 05:21 PM EST |
Should
"stint at Franlin Covey,"
be
"stint at Franklin Covey[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, February 01 2005 @ 10:58 PM EST |
I'm afraid that you're barking up the wrong tree. I was an employee at
PointServe during Darl's illustrious stint there. He was about as well liked as
you would expect. He was ousted by Ed Powell, after being caught reading Ed's
personal emails by our IT guy (a great story, BTW). After being kicked out of
PointServe, Ed Powell wrote a letter of apology to the employees, referring to
Darl as a "monster". Ed Powell is no friend of Darl McBride.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
|
|
|
|
