"The SCO lawsuit might have been the first significant shot
across Linux's bow, and although it never really succeeded in
slowing down Linux's growing popularity, it marked the beginning of
many such attacks on the operating system's credibility.
"Over the last several months, the level and tenor of the
criticism of Linux has ratcheted up as more stories appear in the
press about possible issues around intellectual property rights,
security, application compatibility, the total cost of ownership
and a whole host of other issues.
"Just this week a new book by Kenneth Brown was announced that
is highly critical of Linus Torvalds and Linux. This raises the
question: is this merely a whisper campaign meant to generate fear,
uncertainty and doubt (FUD) in the public's mind regarding Linux,
or do the critics have a point...?"