Putting Microsoft on Notice

Ok.. Time for a really geeky rant: I've had enough of the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) that Microsoft has been putting out about Linux. I can't get away from it's effects, or the people who believe it.

Unfortunately, there's pretty much nothing I can do about it. I stopped using Microsoft years ago, to get away from that kind of crap. I haven't had windows on my computer since the laptop I bought in 2001. (Which I subsequently replaced with Linux.) All that, to no avail, Microsoft and it's shills continue to pour out the annoying rhetoric. Today's version comes from Microsoft's CEO, insisting that I'm infringing their patents - they just won't tell me which one(s).

We've had an issue, a problem that we've had to confront, which is because of the way the GPL works, and because open-source Linux does not come from a company -- Linux comes from the community -- the fact that that product uses our patented intellectual property is a problem for our shareholders.
- Steve Balmer

Fortunately there is one thing I can do: I can give Microsoft Notice. Hi Microsoft. I AM using Linux. I will continue to use Linux. And yes, I will continue to distribute Linux to all of my friends. If you believe I'm violating your patents, tell me within the next 5 years, otherwise the statute of limitations will bar you from pressing your claims on me, and ANYONE I give a copy of Linux to. So Microsoft, if you would like to send me a seize and desist letter, with some specifics, I'd be more than happy to comply.

Alright Microsoft, while you mull over whether you really have a patent that you'd like me to stop infringing, I'm going to keep on using and distributing my favorite (non-Microsoft) operating system.