FSF Europe,
A string of comments on Groklaw mentioned that there might be an oversight happening in the EU Microsoft Anti-Trust Case.
The questions is this:
Is the EU Court, in the Microsoft Anti-Trust case looking at the issue of various FOSS thin clients (Free NX, NoMachine.com, etc) being able to be run on any Microsoft OS (Desktop or Server) without expensive license from Microsoft?
Like SAMBA, a problem already discussed in the case, the LINUX thin clients and LINUX Desktops both need to talk freely with Microsoft desktops and servers! For example: Microsoft RDP protocol needs to be able to run freely on LINUX desktops. X-Windows, NoMachine.com, FreeNX (FOSS thin clients) need to be able to run freely on MS desktops, and devices! FreeNX clients, or the GPL'd NX technology, can also run on portable devices over a 9600 baud data path, about the speed of a cell phone data network. So- FOSS thin clients (FreeNX) needs to be able to run on Microsoft's mobile device software as well. Has the court been advised of the potential for Microsoft with their new Vista OS to, for security reasons, ...to limit, or eliminate, the ability of *NIX thin clients to run on Vista desktops or RDP servers (where these would be not allowed to run)?
FOSS Thin clients being able to work freely with Microsoft products is as important a subject as SAMBA is!
As well, Microsoft thin clients have to work with FOSS desktops and thin client servers. See this url and you will see a school system that is running the MS RDP thin client protocol to K12LTSP.org servers that then use the FOSS X-Windows LTSP technology to deliver a Microsoft desktop to LINUX thin client devices. http://k12ltsp.org/contents.html (screenshots) K12LTSP.org quote: "We've included the rdesktop package that provides access to Windows2000/NT4 terminal sessions with a simple click of an icon. This gives users a choice of operating systems as needed. Note that this option requires a separate W2K/NT terminal server and licenses for clients.
Here is the url to the Groklaw Coment:
http://www.groklaw.net/comment.php?mode=display&sid=20060519104014721&am... excerpt: "Well, what the EU needs to doing is be addressing the balance of server and client compatiblity in the traditional networking SAMBA sense, and in the thin client sense as well during this anti-trust effort! If they don't beat MS on this the all will be lost, mark my words!"
Full Text of comment that PJ recommended that the EU be advised of:
"If Microsoft plays anti-NX or other anti-LINUX thin client games (like they fight SAMBA) then... Authored by: Anonymous on Sunday, May 21 2006 @ 10:21 AM EDT The story is all those Windows Desktops (over 90 percent satuation and many on MS subscription to get auto upgraded to Vista)!
If Microsoft plays anti-NX, or other anti-LINUX thin client games compatabilty disruption tactics (like they fight SAMBA) then... well when the Vista battle star is pulled from hidding, and is battle ready. RUN. Because lawyers at that point in time (if the EU anti-trust effort fails) will not be able to protect you from their portfolio of patents, side deals with players, and their habit for destroying their competition and enjoying it (knowing that the courts are so slow that it will take 5 or more years to disipline them for their evil actions, and knowing that by the end of the case the software will have changed again and the case will be much to do about nothing)!
Well, what the EU needs to doing is be addressing the balance of server and client compatiblity in the traditional networking SAMBA sense, and in the thin client sense as well during this anti-trust effort! If they don't beat MS on this the all will be lost, mark my words!
Steve Ballmer head is Microsoft right now as the head of defensive strategm. I put nothing beyond him, he will do anything to destroy his competition (any thing less and it would most likely offend his sense of manhood). He knows that the courts will take 5 years to spank him for is bad acts! He does not care because during that time that the courts take to work, he reaps 10s of BILLIONS of dollars of income and destroys his competition where they are so broke that they can't even start to get capital to write code that will keep up with him... (he can hire more lawyers then they can hire coders to write code). While the courts are delayed and delayed, Steve and Bill play, play, play their old game, the old fashoned way! Remember, the US justice department has blessed Microsoft and there is no action in the US Justice Department bull pen at all to bring up any sort of effort to take Microsoft on over anti-trust at all (over silly things that lawyers don't understand in the first place, like SAMBA, other systems that need to work with Microsoft to compete, or thin client systems being able to work on Micrososft desktops.
The ball is in the EU court. Someone please tell them to look into making LINUX and UNIX thin client solutions work with Microsoft desktops and servers (both ways)!
Remember, SUN does not care about this as with Tarantella, they just might have a piece of paper that lets Open Solaris or their deployed LINUX of choice run on Microsoft's desktops (the only thing that would stop this is if there were a change of control clause in the oldSCO Tarantella deal with Microsoft (Unix thin client on MS desktop rights), that cancels the contract should oldSCO or Tarantella be sold. If there was no such change of control clause then Microsoft, as far a dealing a crushing thin client blow to SUN goes, well their lawyers might have messed up as it is also possible that SUN could be in the driver's seat to legal thin clients on MS desktops for a very long time (an agreement that NX and the others don't have with Microsoft)!
Hopefully the EU anti-trust effort will fix this and address equal thin client compatability to MS desktops as well as the SAMBA like issues!" Best regards, Groklawonceonly@yahoo.com
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