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● 12.18.09

●● “GPL is Scary!! Please Buy Our Products”

Posted in Free/Libre Software, FUD, GPL at 2:12 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

“Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.”

–Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO

Summary: OpenLogic attempts to monetise the recent lawsuits over GPL violation, increasing the perceived “threat” in the process

EARLIER today I received an E-mail from my Floridan uncle, who reminded me of the business model of snake oil. It is closely related to the practice of selling of products that merely address perceived issues that are created (or exaggerated) by the very same salesmen who offer them.

=> ↺ selling of products that merely address perceived issues that are created (or exaggerated) by the very same salesmen who offer them

My uncle wrote:

Are you familiar with the product, GERITOL?It’s a cure all for all that ails you, it makes you feel full of vim and vigor and makes one feel like he has drunk the waters from the Fountain of Youth.Naturally, it’s a fake and “drunk” is the key word because it contains 12% alcohol.It was immensely popular many years ago, and I believe it is still being sold today.

In a brand new blog post where OpenLogic spreads fear by linking to Perlow’s blow to the FSF (SFLC smearing through distortion), it is also trying to sell products using this fear. The subheadings in this post start with: “Assume that you may be using GPL code.”

=> ↺ a brand new blog post | SFLC smearing through distortion

The second one is: “Scan all of your code — including code from outsourcers”

It is sad to see OpenLogic increasing fear of the GPL in order to make sales. We warned about it earlier this month [1, 2]. Does OpenLogic ‘pull a GERITOL’? Black Duck already does that for sure. █

=> 1 | 2 | already does that for sure

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