Quite a few people have been asking about the "SCO lawsuit against Linux." So I thought I'd contribute a few thoughts.

Before getting into any of the details, however, I have to say one thing up front: "The only sensible reaction to SCO activities is to accelerate plans for using Linux and Open Source rather than to defer them." I'll explain that comment later.

Ok, first of all, SCO isn't suing Linux. The lawsuit is against IBM. SCO claims that IBM disclosed SCO's confidential technical information and that same information has become part of Linux. There are a number of legal analyses of this lawsuit available on the Internet. Lawrence Rosen, working on behalf of the Open Source Initiative has published some common questions and answers. ZDNet also published an analysis from Thomas Carey.

Those two articles strongly favour the IBM/Linux side of the discussion. On the other side of the issue, CNET has published an interview with Mark Heise, who is a partner in the law firm representing SCO.

SCO is also claiming that users of current versions of Linux must now pay them a license fee for their intellectual property. SCO claims that one Fortune 500 company has purchased this license but refuses to name the company or how much the license cost.

To date, proof of SCO's claims have not been demonstrated. So far, SCO has been very tight-fisted when it comes to displaying what they believe are examples of Linux source code that have been copied from the SCO owned Unix. The examples seen so far appear to come from older versions of Unix that have already been found, by US courts, to be in the public domain. Bruce Perens and Linux Torvalds both have interesting comments on the code displayed.

So it seems like SCO claims are not on the firmest of grounds. But SCO has a history of successful litigation and employs some of the best lawyers around. You simply cannot discount them or their lawsuit out of hand. But even if we assume that SCO wins the lawsuit against IBM and it is found that parts of Linux contain their intellectual property, it doesn't spell doom for Linux.

If courts determine that SCO intellectual property is included in Linux, they will be bound to allow remedy. That means they would have to identify exactly which lines of code are theirs so they can be removed. And believe me, Linux developers would remove them! In a flurry of activity that would leave traditional software establishments dazed, the offending code would be excised and replaced with new software. The big bonus to Linux users is that if this happens, the developers will not only replace code, they will probably improve it as well.

How about the cost of all this? Well, to the group of developers who do the work, it will cost them more than a few nights sleep and they'll probably have to dip into their savings to support the extra caffeine requirements (so buy a Linux hacker a cup of espresso). And the cost for the rest of us? Well, we'll all probably have to upgrade our Linux Kernel (it would give us a good excuse to reboot our machines).

As for purchasing Linux licenses from SCO. Should you do it? Well, of course that's up to you. But I personally won't buy a software license from a company that has yet to prove they have any ownership.

So, if we look at the big picture, it seems that Linux is probably pretty safe. But why did I make the claim that you should accelerate plans to use Linux? It's not just because I like disagreeing with the Gartner Group; I have several reasons.

First, it should now be obvious to everyone that Linux is not just a toy. Linux is now officially big business. Just the fact that SCO has filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit and is trying to collect license fees demonstrates that Linux is for real.

Second, it is quickly becoming apparent that Linux community can respond to business and legal challenges just as well as your average monopolistic software company. If the source to Linux indeed must be changed, it will also be demonstrated that the Open Source community can respond to technical challenges better than anyone.

Third. People frequently judge the Open Source community to be made up of sociopathic outcasts. They often squabble among themselves. They are described as opinionated, hotheaded and difficult to deal with. Well, that may be true, but I don't think it's a bad thing. Pioneers have always been outsiders and stood out from the crowd. They're the risk takers and innovators. Given the choice, most of the Open Source community would gladly climb into a covered wagon and "Go West." But they can't, because there's nowhere left to go. Instead, they expand the boundaries of software development. These people have formed the first real global community. It crosses almost every political, social, religious and economic boundary on earth. This is a community that should not be underestimated and they will continue to produce excellent software. You might as well enjoy the fruits of their labour!

And finally. The spotlight is now shining directly on Linux. This light will accomplish two things. First, it will attract new users. More and more people and businesses will try out Linux to see what the fuss is about. Lots of those people will like what they see and Linux will continue to gain momentum. The light will also expose some of the shortcomings of Linux and Open Source, such as the "not quite ready for the average user" office productivity applications. This exposure will only give the Open Source community better feedback about what needs to be improved; and improve, it will.

So, I'm going to finish up with a bold prediction and a little advice.

The prediction: Within two years, Linux desktops will provide at least the same functionality and ease of use (from the viewpoint of average user) as current "Industry Standard" desktops. Organisations will start to migrate to Linux desktops because of 1) Security issues, 2) Simplicity (read lower cost) of administration and support, 3) Licensing costs. (That Linux and other Open Source operating systems will continue to gain share in the server space is, I think, obvious).

As for the advice: It takes a little time to come to terms with Open Source software. It's a departure from the point and click world that most people are used to. Remember too, there are many different Linux distributions and Open Source applications to choose from. You may even want to look at one of the BSD operating systems. They each have their advantages. Flexibility is one of the hallmarks of the Open Source world. But that flexibility means that you have to make more decisions. Give yourself time to do it right.

So my suggestion is, start now and start small. Pick a simple service that you can replace with Open Source. Better yet, create a new service, such as a web proxy and implement it with Open Source. Build it, test it, trial it and don't look back. It will give you and your support staff a good place to start. As you gain a little experience with Open Source software, you'll find plenty of opportunities to put it to good use.

Disclaimer: IANAL. My opinions of legal matters are just that: my opinions. Courts may inflict whatever wisdom or folly that they deem suitable at the time.