[Sheflug] Microsoft Patents Sudo?!!

[Richard Ibbotson <richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hmm...

That's a bit different :)

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20091111094923390

"  Lordy, lordy, lordy. They have no shame. It appears that Microsoft 
has just patented sudo, a personalized version of it.
Here it is, patent number7617530. Thanks, USPTO, for giving Microsoft, 
which is already a monopoly, a monopoly on something that's been in 
use since 1980 and wasn't invented by Microsoft. Here's Wikipedia's 
description of sudo, which you can meaningfully compare to Microsoft's 
description of its "invention".
This is why what the US Supreme Court does about software patents 
means so much. Hopefully they will address the topic in their decision 
on Bilski. Sudo is an integral part of the functioning of GNU/Linux 
systems, and you use it in Mac OSX also. Maybe the Supreme Court 
doesn't know that, and maybe the USPTO didn't realize it. But do you 
believe Microsoft knows it?  "

-- 
Richard

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