[SGVLUG] TomTom - Open Tom - linux hacking

[John E. Kreznar]

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In a posting purportedly from matti <mathew_2000 at yahoo.com> but
lacking a digital signature, it is written:

> Thought this would be of interest

> Hacking the TomTom ONE through Open Source 
> http://www.itwire.com/content/view/13531/53/1/2/

> http://wiki.opentom.org/Main_Page

In this connection an interesting document "Microsoft: A History of
Anticompetitive Behavior and Consumer Harm", March 31, 2009 appeared
Sunday in newsgroup alt.test Finalversion_Consumerchoicepaper.pdf.  It
includes the paragraph

   In an apparent escalation of its patent FUD strategy, Microsoft
   sued the navigational system vendor, TomTom, for patent
   infringement at the end of February 2009.  Three patent claims
   related to Linux are included in the lawsuit.[135]  At least two of
   them are related to highly questionable patents on long file name
   support in Windows, which have been partially invalidated by an EC
   patent court on the grounds that Microsoft's patent claims were
   "not based on inventive activity".[136]  While Microsoft has
   publicly claimed that its action is not directed against Linux or
   open source, and the case was settled in March 2009 pursuant to a
   mostly- confidential agreement, this represents an aggressive
   development of Microsoft's use of spurious or highly questionable
   patent claims to intimidate and eliminate competition from Linux in
   order to maintain or strengthen its dominant position in the OS
   market.

[135] See Bruce Perens, Analyzing Microsoft's TomTom Lawsuit,
    DATAMATION.COM, Mar. 1, 2009, available at
    http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/osrc/article.php/3807801/Bruce-Perens-Analyzing-Microsofts-Linux-Lawsuit.htm
    and Richard Hillesley, TomTom The drums of a patent war with
    Microsoft? ITPRO.COM, Mar. 5, 2009, available at
    http://www.itpro.co.uk/610093/tomtom-the-drums-of-a-patent-war-with-microsoft.
[136] See, e.g., Federal Patent Court declares FAT patent of Microsoft
    null and void, HEISE ONLINE, Mar. 2, 2007,
    available at http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/86141.

- -- 
 John E. Kreznar jek at ininx.com 9F1148454619A5F08550 705961A47CC541AFEF13
         Microsoft is an oil spill on the Internet

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