4 days ago
- Steve Ballmer's 2001 quote calling Linux 'a cancer' is often used out of context and stripped of his initial praise for Linux as 'good competition.'
- The quote was aimed at the GPL's copyleft clause, not the Linux kernel itself, expressing concerns about intellectual property and the license's potential viral spread in commercial software.
- In 2001, legal questions about the GPL's enforceability were unresolved, and high-stakes litigation like SCO v. IBM brought these issues to the forefront, though the GPL later survived court challenges.
- Over time, legal precedent clarified that the GPL is enforceable, and Microsoft evolved to embrace Linux, joining initiatives like the Linux Foundation and pledging patents to protect open source.
- Using the 25-year-old quote in modern tech stories is outdated, as Microsoft now ships GPL Linux kernels and actively supports open source, making the reference misleading and irrelevant.