Unisys has long been the main booster — possibly the only one besides Microsoft — of Windows as a mainframe operating system. Now Unisys says it loves Linux — but still claims to be a staunch Microsoft partner — and it seems like most of its contributions to the Linux kernel are only useful to Unisys customers. And then theres the specter of the Unisys GIF patents (now expired), and how the company used them as weapons against free and open source software projects only a few years ago. In light of all this, should we welcome Unisys as a “member of the Linux community” with open arms, or maintain a skeptical distance until the company proves that it has truly seen the open source light?
Last week I spoke by phone with Anthony Gold, Unisys vice president of engineering for ES7000 server products.
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