Microsoft patented sudo?

[Sparda]

This is a little old, but hay:

http://ubuntulinuxtipstricks.blogspot.com/...atent-sudo.html

Sparda's summary (for lazzy people):

A blurry patent that describes programs running as administrator only when they need to.

They say "Everyone else should do this".

I think we all know the whole deal with software and blurry patents, it's basically the shotgun effect. This paticular one seems particularly hopples of all there patents (ignoring double clicking). The original Unix did this, so you know, any law suit will result in MS losing and a lose of there patent.

Of course they didn't stop there with the patent did they? They had to come out and say "Hay, what we are doing is brilliant, everyone else should do it!" (paraphrased obviously). I'm rather surprised it didn't turn in to a PR disaster, where a slightly more informed PR person had to come and go "no no no, we meant <insert bullshit>, MAC OS can keep it's passworded popups" (since they probably still don't see Linux as a 'player').

Thoughts? (i know you people occasionally have them ;))

[VaKo]

I don't think MS is the Big Evil here, its the US patent system. If they don't patent everything they do, then someone else will and will attempt to take them threw the wringer for it. Bill Gates has said this himself. As for the PR thing, its what PR departments do, its part of business. Sucks, but try doing business without one. The problem isn't the coders and geeks at MS (they will be just like us), its the shear amount of Lawyers you need to do business.