War and Peace, Linux Style

Therell be peace in the valley for me, someday," sang the dulcet-toned Drudge, Elvis-like. The Kitty wasnt hung over from the recent Elvis week in Memphis but instead was contemplating the aftermath of SCOs major court defeat in its ongoing Linux IP battles.

"This must feel similar to the end of WWII for Linux lovers," laughed the Lynx, as he envisioned the open-source crowd kissing nurses in the street, filling their freezers with meat, buying big-finned automobiles and enjoying some well-deserved leisure time.

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The Furball also contemplated whether there could be some Linux-like Yalta, where the future of open-source software might be decided by major players such as Novell, IBM and Richard Stalin … er, Stallman. The Furballs post-Linux war fantasies were soon interrupted when a crony called to ponder Motorola CEO Ed Zanders fate. Besides suffering three bad quarters in a row, the crony noted, the Z-man is facing a campaign to oust him led by Eric Jackson, a Florida-based consultant.

Jackson, who had once waged a similar campaign to oust former Yahoo CEO Terry Semel, has reportedly rallied more than 130 Motorola shareholders to support him in his cause. Although the Motorola board claims it has no plans to replace Zander, the crony said the word on the street is that the company may be seeking a high-profile exec, such as Michael Capellas, to step up to the plate.

"Hmm, lets see ... Capellas past strategies seem to be to either merge with another entity (such as the Compaq-HP deal) or rebrand the troubled company with a former name (such as redubbing WorldCom with its previous moniker, MCI)," mused the Mouser. "So, I guess if Capellas ever did take over the CEO reins at Motorola, hell relive 1928 and rename the troubled company the Galvin Manufacturing Corp."

Before bidding Spence adieu, the phone pal also noted that the Motorola Z6c—a CDMA slider phone featuring Bluetooth and GSM capability—is rumored to be hitting the streets by November.

The Furry One wondered how former CA CEO Sanjay Kumar was holding up since beginning his 12-year jail sentence in the Federal Correctional Institution in Fairton, N.J. A friend in the financial biz told Spence that CA Vice Chairman and founder Russell Artzt sold off more than $15 million in CA stock on Aug. 13, the day before Kumar began serving his sentence.

The sale has caused some CA insiders to speculate on whether Artzt might be looking to exit the company sooner rather than later, said the friend.

The pal also noted that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reportedly holds 740,000 shares of the McDonalds fast-food chain. "Its amusing that a foundation that aids the starving has stock in a company accused of causing obesity, no?" asked the friend.

"Not really. Besides, Bill actually created FAT back in 1977—with a guy named McDonald, no less," cackled the Kitty.