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| SCO Teleconference Monday . . . But without Darl |
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Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 11:30 AM EST
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SCO is having a media and analyst teleconference Monday, February 27, at noon Eastern time. Here's what is news about it. It will be Tim Negris, the executive vice president of sales and marketing, not Darl, representing SCO on the call. It seems to be about mobile handheld devices and Me Inc., so perhaps that is why. That is his responsibility now. And they did announce that he had "responsibility for overall marketing and sales, and will oversee public relations, events, customer support, professional services, as well as direct and channel sales." So this is consistent with that announcement. If the media and industry analysts want to participate, SCO requests the following: "RSVP requested to ensure sufficient phone lines". Note that this is only for press and industry analysts who are interested in the mobile field. For that reason, I've redacted the phone numbers, because this isn't a teleconference to attend unless you are media or an analyst in that field. I almost didn't put this on Groklaw, for that reason, but we're trying to cover this SCO story 100% and a teleconference without Darl is something new. So this is to complete the history, but not to tell you to listen in. I'm sure we'll be able to learn what is said in other ways, because the media is sure to report it. The list of what Tim Negris is now responsible for is quite long, I have to say, and I can't help but wonder if there is a shift to try to distance the company's face to the world from the gestank of SCO, as us old timers at Groklaw might put it. I also note their description of the company now is: "SCO owns the core UNIX operating system." I find it intriguing to watch how the SCO resume changes, depending on what job SCO is applying for, so to speak.
For example, here's what their press release said the day they announced SCOsource in January of 2003: SCOsource
SCO's patents, copyrights and core technology date back to 1969 when Bell
Laboratories created the original UNIX source code. SCOsource will manage the
licensing of this software technology to customers and vendors.
"SCO is the developer and owner of SCO UnixWare and SCO OpenServer, both
based on UNIX System V technology," said Darl McBride, president and CEO, The
SCO Group. "SCO owns much of the core UNIX intellectual property, and has
full rights to license this technology and enforce the associated patents and
copyrights. SCO is frequently approached by software and hardware vendors and
customers who want to gain access to key pieces of UNIX technology. SCOsource
will expand our licensing activities, offering partners and customers new ways
to take advantage of these technologies." They didn't have any patents on Unix, of course, and Novell says they kept the copyrights themselves. How they could not have known that they didn't have any patents is beyond my comprehension, since they told the world in the same press release they had hired David Boies to look at their intellectual property assets. Maybe he hadn't gotten started yet. And saying one owns "the core of the intellectual property" is another way of saying you don't own all of it. Such admissions get in the way of persuading judges, or the USPTO, for that matter, a couple of years later, that you are the successor of USL, AT&T etc. in an unbroken chain of assets transfers. I guess that is the kind of inconsistent statement that makes somebody decide finally to put Tim Negris in charge of handling the PR. And note what they also announced that day: The first offering from SCOsource will be SCO System V for Linux -- an
end-user licensed product for use on Linux systems. SCO System V for
Linux provides unbundled licensing of SCO's UNIX System shared
libraries for use with UNIX applications, enabling them to run on
Linux. I think they should have quit while they were ahead. Here's how they described themselves in 2003, before all the nonsense began: The SCO(R) Group (SCO) (Nasdaq: SCOX), a leading provider of Linux and UNIX
business software solutions, today announced that it has created a new
business division to manage the licensing of its UNIX intellectual property.
The new division, called SCOsource, will manage the substantial UNIX
intellectual property assets owned by SCO, and will operate an array of
licensing programs....About SCO
The SCO Group (Nasdaq: SCOX), formerly called Caldera International, helps
companies grow their business through its UNIX, Linux and Windows solutions
and services. Based in Lindon, UT, SCO has representation in 82 countries and
16,000+ resellers worldwide. SCO Global Services provides reliable localized
support and services to partners and customers. For more information on SCO
solutions and services, visit http://www.sco.com .
SCO, SCOsource, OpenServer, UnixWare and the associated SCO logo are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Caldera International, Inc. in the U.S.
and other countries. UNIX and UnixWare, used under an exclusive license, are
registered trademarks of The Open Group in the United States and other
countries. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other
brand or product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify
products or services of, their respective owners. Isn't that strange, that they say they have the trademark to UnixWare and in the next sentence they say it's a registered trademark of the Open Group? And how could they apply for a UNIX-related trademark or tell the USPTO that Novell had assigned the trademark to Santa Cruz, when you can see in their own press release that they knew the trademark went to the Open Group? I am simply unable to answer that question. Here's the press release, minus the phone numbers and RSVP info:
**********************
The SCO Group Media and Analyst Teleconference Monday, February 27, 12:00 PM Eastern
Friday February 24, 1:44 pm ET
SCO Extends Its Technology and Reach With New Products and Programs for
Digital Services
MEDIA ADVISORY
What: SCO Teleconference
* SCO to detail new products and programs around its
rollout of digital services for smart handheld
devices
* Overview of current and future digital services
solutions for smart handheld devices
* Details on current participating customers and
partners
* Q&A
* RSVP requested to ensure sufficient phone lines
Who: Tim Negris, executive vice president, sales &
marketing, The SCO Group; Andy Nagle, digital services
product manager, The SCO Group; Michael Macho, director,
mobile BIS division, BIS Computer Solutions
Press materials will be available the morning of the
call at http://www.sco.com/company/newsroom/. ...
When: Monday, February 27, 2006
12:00 PM ET/9:00 AM PT
Who Should
Participate: Press and industry analysts interested in mobile
business and consumer digital services, mobile
solutions for the Palm Treo and other smart handheld
devices.
RSVP: The SCO Group...
The SCO Group is a leading provider of
UNIX software technology for distributed, embedded and
network-based systems, offering SCO OpenServer for
small to medium business, UnixWare for enterprise
applications, and Me Inc. for digital network services.
SCO's highly innovative and reliable solutions help
millions of customers grow their businesses everyday,
from SCO OpenServer on main street to UnixWare on Wall
Street, and beyond. SCO owns the core UNIX operating
system, originally developed by AT&T/Bell Labs and is
the exclusive licensor to UNIX-based system software
providers.
Headquartered in Lindon, Utah, SCO has a worldwide
network of thousands of resellers and developers. SCO
Global Services provides reliable localized support and
services to partners and customers. For more
information on SCO products and services, visit
www.sco.com.
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| Authored by: CanonicalKoi on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 11:35 AM EST |
Not surprising, really. Darl sitting there, Googling and poking his neighbor
wouldn't leave a very good impression. I'm still trying to wrap my head around
the, "We own...", "No, someone else owns...", "We own
the rights...", "Well, kind of...." statements. It's a mirror of
their entire case against IBM--confused and contradictory.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: saltydogmn on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 11:38 AM EST |
As I posted on the SCOX board; I'd love it if stats_for_all could post his
questions here, too; they are very good...
>>>
Firstly, I'd like to congratulate Mr. Tim Negris on his new position of
Executive Vice President of Putting Things On Top Of Other Things. It is a bold
move, and a well-deserved ascendancy to the upper eschelons of corporate power,
which should not be questioned or belittled by the Linux community.
A large number of smartphones are being sold throughout the world, by some of
the leading names in the technology world; as you can see from this list here;
http://www.linuxdevices.com/articles/AT9423084269.html
Major companies like Ericsson, Motorola, NEC, Panasonic, and Samsung, are
deploying these phones by the millions as we speak.
Given the hyper-litigious nature of The SCO Group, what are the chances that
mobile network providers and phone manufacturers, if they actually want to
purchase your SCO ME system, will also be A) strong armed into purchasing
SCOSource "licenses", and forced to hide their disclosure, or B) sued
for embedding Linux as the operating system in their phones? Is it also possible
you plan to extort these SCOSource payments as a per-phone fee?
Finally, given your track record with regards to all your previous corporate
partnerships, collaborations, and relationships, what company in their right
mind would do business with The SCO Group?
>>>[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Chris Lingard on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 11:38 AM EST |
Please post in HTML, and put in those links, there are instuctions at the
end of the posting page. But if you cannot post in HTML, then post it
anywat.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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- "Disruptions in The Fourth Estate" - Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 02:27 PM EST
- Teleconference referenced as Eastern time? - Authored by: cmc on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 02:48 PM EST
- Universal Goes Ape - Authored by: TAZ6416 on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 02:58 PM EST
- Is there a "BIG Problem" coming up for current buyers of Intel VIIv? - Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 03:34 PM EST
- Darl at the Table: The Dynamcs of Attendance - Who, Why, and Where - Authored by: webster on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 04:00 PM EST
- Darl at the Table: The Dynamcs of Attendance - Who, Why, and Where - Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 04:19 PM EST
- Darl at the Table: The Dynamcs of Attendance - Who, Why, and Where - Authored by: Waterman on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 07:40 PM EST
- Don't laugh: it worked for John Dean. - Authored by: Ed L. on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 08:38 PM EST
- Darl at the Table: The Dynamcs of Attendance - Who, Why, and Where - Authored by: Anonymous on Monday, February 27 2006 @ 10:50 AM EST
- "The Microsoft Office 2007 Upgrade Is Going to Have a Big Learning Curve...." - Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 05:50 PM EST
- Tracking BIFF on Groklaw? - Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 06:08 PM EST
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| Authored by: stats_for_all on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 11:52 AM EST |
| Questions I would hope to see asked at Monday's SCO Me Marketing Call.
Please
add your own.
Good day, Mr. Negris. Prominent intellectual property
attorneys in Boston and
San Jose state in the press that the SCOX v. Linux
cases are essentially over,
that SCOX has lost. Some commentators say the judge
will rule against SCO in
PSJ's as early as July 2006.
This leads to my
question: Why should a company invest in a software
solution provided by a firm
on the brink of being bankrupted ten times over
in a hopeless legal
gambit?
Have SCO Me partners asked to see the evidence of infringement at
the heart
of in your legal adventure against Linux? Have you provided any
tangible
assurances that a negative judgement in the case will permit SCO to
survive?
A business strategist, Michael Anderer, hired by SCO in 2003
described a go-
to-market with products attractive for acquisition as a way of
directing
Microsoft funding to SCO. Is this strategy still in place? Is the SCO
Me product
line and IP up for sale?
SCO's Chair of the Board Ralph Yarro
has trademarked the words "Nanotop"
and "Seedlet". These are described as
related to mobile applications. Can you
clear up the relationship between SCO
Me and the Yarro mobile initiatives?
Certain industry reporters, Ms. Maureen
O'Gara, for instance, have said that
the industry is rife with speculation that
you are being groomed to take over
leadership at SCO. In light of your recent
promotion, would you care to
comment on those rumors?
The SCO Me portal
that was shown at Demo Fall 2005 had a calendar and
workgroup component, and a
system monitor application. These are not
shown in the beta project. What
development difficulties did you encounter
with these
applications?
Commercial real estate listings show one-half of your floor at
the Murray Hill,
NJ development center is up for immediate lease. Are you
downsizing your
R&D center? Is SCO Me development moving to another
location?
Mr. Negris, you have licensed patents held by Mr. Charles Northrup
in your
previous business endeavors. These are described as broad
"edge-of-
networK" patents.
SCO Me emphasizes its "edge-of-network" role,
will you be licensing Mr.
Northrup's patents again for SCO? Are there financial
conflicts involved
because of your prior relationship with Mr. Northrup? [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Nick_UK on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 11:54 AM EST |
A question. Why didn't Novell (or whoever) tell SCO
way-back-then that it doesn't own nothing of the sort when
SCO kept describing themselves as such?
Nick [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: stats_for_all on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 12:12 PM EST |
| Andy Nagle becomes "digital services product manager" in the current Press
release.
Nagle was the SCO representative on the United Linux board of
governors
from April 2002 on. (He served with SuSE rep Gregory Blepp before he
lost his
briefcase).
Nagle used the Murray Hill, NJ location in 2004 logs,
and it is not clear if he
has moved West to lead the cell phone gambit. Nagle
gave 4 presentations at
SCO Forum:
a. PowerTerm Host Publisher -Andy
Nagle
b. Powerterm Host Connect-- Nagle w/ Harsh Shah
c. SCOOffice
Dianostics --Nagle w/ Scott SImmons
d. SCOOffice Birds of a Feather
From a United Linux Board biography:
Mr. Nagle
spent over ten years as Project Manager for UnixWare and other
large software
development projects, after completing ten years in various
Engineering
Management positions. Mr. Nagle has a PhD in Electrical
Engineering from
Carnegie-Mellon University.
Michael Macho of MobileBIS works
for a relative, Miro Macho, president of
BIS-- It has sold 25+ copies of a
integrated Oracle database for Jewlery
chains and much other Oracle database
development. Headquartered in a
little detached office in La Cresenta, Ca. SCO
not mentioned on website, but
BIS has been a SCO VAR in past records. The
current and google cache
version (Jan 24, 2006) of the employee list give
different names for the
MobileBIS account
executive.
The BIS emphasis on
Oracle database connectivity makes sense in terms of
Negris's own employment
history, but runs counter to SCO's current
certifications. The rr.sco.com
domain which serves the alpha SCO Me voice
recordings appears to be a Windows
boxen based on server error messages.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: TheBlueSkyRanger on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 12:14 PM EST |
Hey, everybody!
The OT thread is relatively far down the list. And the correction thread is not
only further, but not even by the same poster.
Either it speaks of priorities, or we are getting laaaaaaaaaazy.... ;-)
Dobre utka,
The Blue Sky Ranger[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: SpaceLifeForm on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 12:16 PM EST |
Standard ploy of the darkside, generate some
different news to hide the bad news.
---
You are being MICROattacked, from various angles, in a SOFT manner.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: snorpus on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 12:19 PM EST |
| We might not have Darl to kick around much longer. ---
73/88 de KQ3T
---
Montani Semper Liberi
Comments Licensed: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: kawabago on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 12:39 PM EST |
That is the only thing I can see underlying their offer to help companies run
SCO software on Linux. Of course since they've already demonstrated a
propensity for suing customers that try to switch, I can't imagine anyone taking
them up on it.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: RealProgrammer on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 12:53 PM EST |
| Isn't that strange, that they say they have the trademark to UnixWare and in
the next sentence they say it's a registered trademark of the Open Group? And
how could they apply for the UNIX trademark or tell the USPTO that Novell had
assigned the trademark to Santa Cruz, when you can see in their own press
release that they knew the trademark went to the Open Group? I am simply unable
to answer that question.
Naw. As I recall there was a period of time
during which they still held the rights to the name "UnixWare", but had allowed
The Open Group an exclusive license to register it. Or something like that. I
looked, but I can't find the reference.
---
(I'm not a lawyer, but I
know right from wrong) [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: jfw25 on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 01:38 PM EST |
| With Negris "oversee[ing] the company's operating units" while Darl "drive[s]
the company's business strategies", that sure looks like the traditional split
between a COO and a CEO. Now, why might they need two people directing a
company as small as SCO, and why wouldn't they want to label Negris as
"COO"?
My thoroughly ill-informed guess: they are preparing to spin off
the lawsuit
into a separate shell company, in order to ensure that IBM collects
nothing
when they win each and every one of their counterclaims. Now that the
board
has realized (a) that the judges are nowhere near stupid enough to be
hoodwinked by this sham case, and (b) that there are some potentially
valuable
properties lying around at SCO, it's time to restructure the company
to allow
them to get out with the loot before the sheriff arrives. I know
nothing
meaningful about the laws regarding corporate governance, but I
suspect that if
Negris actually gained the formal title of Chief Operating
Officer, there would
be obligations to and entanglements with the current
structure of SCO which it
would be inconvenient to have when he later
becomes the CEO of "Not SCO At All,
Nuh-Uh, Even Though We Somehow
Managed To Wind Up With Everything Of Value That
SCO, Whoever They Might
Be, Used To Own, Inc."
And it looks like Darl has
probably been told he doesn't have a seat
in the lifeboat...
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: jfw25 on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 01:46 PM EST |
SCO owns the file ~dmcbride/wump.core.
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: hamjudo on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 02:47 PM EST |
| The call is during the trading day. They wouldn't invite analysts, if they
weren't going to be releasing material information.
They have to allow all
investors, potential investors, short sellers, and potential short sellers to
hear the information at the same time or they create a huge class of insiders.
They don't have to let just anyone ask questions.
Odd time for a call. The
Q1, FY 2006 results should be released by the middle of March. So are they
going to have another call in 2 weeks, or are they going to release the numbers
in this call?
I'm sure they've lined up a few friendly questioners.
Who is
(are?) their new analyst(s). All of the old analysts have moved on. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: grouch on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 03:20 PM EST |
SCO says:
SCO owns the core UNIX operating system,
originally developed by AT&T/Bell Labs and is the exclusive licensor to
UNIX-based system software providers.
To wreck that
"exclusive licensor claim", it only takes one example...
IBM
has been quietly working on its mainframe operating system (formerly MVS) to add
open interfaces for some years. In September 1996, The Open Group announced that
OS/390 had been awarded the X/Open UNIX brand, enabling IBM to identify its
premier operating system to be marked UNIX 95. This is a significant event as
OS/390 is the first product to guarantee conformance to the Single UNIX
Specification, and therefore to carry the label UNIX 95, that is not
derived from the AT&T/ SCO source code.
--
The Open
Group
(Emphasis on "not" is in the original).
If SCO
is not the "exclusive licensor" for IBM OS/390, then they are not the "exclusive
licensor to UNIX-based system software providers."
---
-- grouch
http://edge-op.org/links1.html
[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 03:28 PM EST |
I hope when all is said and done Chris Sontag is not
forgotten as being
right up there with Darl McBride when
criminal charges are being
considered.
RAS [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: grouch on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 03:53 PM EST |
I'm sorry, I just can't accept "SCO Me" as anything serious. It's more
like a line the leading masochist would scream in a play so off-beat and
ridiculous as to be rejected by anyone not completely and hopelessly insane.
Sisyphus had it too easy; SCO me!
---
-- grouch
http://edge-op.org/links1.html
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| Authored by: Steve Martin on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 05:50 PM EST |
And how could they apply for the UNIX trademark or tell the
USPTO that Novell had assigned the trademark to Santa Cruz, when you can see in
their own press release that they knew the trademark went to the Open
Group?
Forgive me for doubting you, PJ, but did TSG in
fact apply for the UNIX trademark? I knew they applied for the trademark "UNIX
Systems Laboratories", as you had written about that one, but I wasn't aware
they ever applied for the "UNIX" trademark itself.
---
"When I say
something, I put my name next to it." -- Isaac Jaffee, "Sports Night" [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: freeio on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 09:42 PM EST |
"I also note their description of the company now is: "SCO owns the
core UNIX operating system." I find it intriguing to watch how the SCO
resume changes, depending on what job SCO is applying for, so to speak."
Ah, yes, they claim many things. But the truth is another matter. Whatever
part or piece of unix tcehnology they may have certain rights to (like the right
to sell some of it, and develop it further) their main problem is that they want
the world to believe that they own more than they do. Specifically, much of
this whole case is based on their erronious assumption that they own some rights
to GNU/Linux. This is where they have collided with the community, and it is
where they will inevitably fall.
I have to give real credit to RMS for knowing that it would be necessary to
rewirte the entire system from scratch, in order to know for certain that GNU's
Not Unix. As a result, we have an entire system which is not corporately
controlled, and which may be used under one or another of the free licenses.
Whatever part of unix rights tSOG may have legitimate claim to, they have no
claim on free software.
Of course, they will atempt to prove otherwise, because this is in their nature.
The attempt to "monetize" anything of value is an inherent behavior
of certain individuals and the corporations which they control. In the end,
this is destined to fail, even though they may struggle mightily, and
occasionally win a battle. They have already lost the war, but they do not
realize it yet. To admit defeat would be against their financial interest. For
them to win, however, would be a calamity.
For them to win it will be necessary to not only kill the main trunk of the free
software tree, but also to kill every shoot out of the ground. The roots are
very extensive and long lasting. The many saplings which exist are already
major in their importance, and represent a very stout ecology of free software.
tSOG will fail, and it will fail by virtue of having made the wrong choices, and
when faced with defeat, to have dug in further. They will fail because they
have chosen to battle a community which will never give in. Free software is
here to stay.
GNU's Not Unix, and it is a good thing it is not.
---
Tux et bona et fortuna est.[ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: belzecue on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 10:17 PM EST |
SCO, SCOsource, OpenServer, UnixWare and the associated SCO logo are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Caldera International, Inc. in the U.S.
and other countries
"Apples, oranges, and marmosets are fruits
or monkeys".
This is a standard SCOspeak technique: create a superset of
subset objects and then refer to the entire superset by ORing the attributes of
the subsets. Entirely misleading and entirely true. [ Reply to This | # ]
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| Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, February 26 2006 @ 11:03 PM EST |
| ...we may need to use both phone lines. [ Reply to This | # ]
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