I love this video. To me it marks a turning point, a turning point in the fortunes of Microsoft.
About half way through the video while describing Microsoft's clumsy attempts to intimidate the Free Software Community the audience starts the laugh. Eben tries to continue but also starts to laugh and says "I know, it sounds absurd, I know".
What does this mean? Well it means Microsoft have shown us part of it's hand, part of what it hopes is a winning hand. And what happens? We're laughing.
Not the response the strategists at Microsoft were expecting!
The Microsoft strategists would do well to read Mark Shuttleworth's blog, he has a really good handle on it.
"The real threat to Linux is the same as the real threat to Microsoft, and that is a patent suit from a person or company that is NOT actually building software, but has filed patents on ideas that the GNU project and Microsoft are equally likely to be implementing."
But as clumsy as Microsoft's behaviour is, and as counter productive as it is too their own image lets not forget it is very very poor behaviour! I think Leo LaPorte and Steve Gibson summed it up best on the Security Now podcast.
"So here's what's so frustrating, too, is that the fact that Microsoft won't name the patents prevents anyone from curing the problem that Microsoft is complaining about. So they really don't want the problem cured."
When gangsters do this it is call extortion or a protection racket, why should it be any different when Microsoft does it?
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