The rhetoric out of Redmond about Linux has had several memorable moments over the years.

The Halloween Documents stand out, as do the various whitepapers about Windows advantages in ROI and TCO over Linux over the years.

There has long been an undercurrent of suggestions and veiled threats made by Microsoft toward the Linux community over the years.

Accusations of Linux using Microsoft’s intellectual property have been echoed by Ballmer in the press.

Some in the Linux world have had enough.

They have pulled on the MMA gloves and challenged Ballmer to step into ring. The request: Show Us The Code:

This website will serve as a response to this accusation, and within it, a request. The request is simple, since you, Microsoft, claim to be so sure of yourself: Show Us the Code. Show us the Code and Show Us the Patents. Let’s make this crystal clear. If Linux developers are made aware of the code and pantented ideas, then the code can be omitted and Linux can re-write necessary aspects of the kernel or operating system. This is a fairly simple request and common courtesy. Linux community members do not want your code. We don’t want lawsuits. We don’t want non-free code. And much to your dismay, we don’t want Microsoft’s code specifically.

The Show Us The Code site’s backers have asked Microsoft to show publicly where Linux violates its intellectual property by May 1st.

They are also calling upon leaders in the tech community, like Linus Torvalds, Mark Shuttleworth, and Google’s leading triumvirate of Larry Page, Sergey Brin, and Eric Schmidt to call Microsoft’s bluff.
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