Well, it was a long time coming, but here are a few of my thoughts. First, some background. The name "Sco" has been a family nickname in our clan forever as I’m sure it is in every other Scofield clan around the globe. Why this explanation? I just wanted to make it very clear that Sco was in use long before computers, UNIX, Santa Cruz Operation, and The SCO Group were ever dreamed of. A close friend of mine says that I have trouble with focus. Well, I'm not the only one. Here's someone else that has lost his focus. Is Darl McBride trying to do to The SCO Group the same thing that Ray Norda did to Novell, Philip Kahn did to Borland, Larry Ellison has been trying to do to Oracle, and Scott McNealy has been trying to do to Sun? Ray Norda at Novell lost focus. They had the number one network server software. They stopped trying to be the best network software around. Their misguided mission? Get Bill Gates. The result was that Novel handed the network server business to Microsoft on a silver platter. Philip Kahn at Borland lost focus. Although it was an accusation from Ashton-Tate, they had the number one desktop database product. They stopped trying to be the best desktop database around. Their misguided mission? Get Bill Gates. The result was that Borland handed the desktop database business to Microsoft on a silver platter. Larry Ellison at Oracle lost focus. They had the number one database server. They stopped trying to be the best database server software. Their misguided mission? Get Bill Gates. The result was that Oracle handed a huge chunk of the database server business on microcomputers to Microsoft on a silver platter. The jury is still out on Oracle. Despite Larry’s attempts to destroy Oracle, his number two man, (no longer with the company,) a few years ago saved Larry from himself. Had it not been for their minicomputer and mainframe offerings, I think Larry could have left Oracle looking like Novel and Borland. And now? They’re off on another quest. PeopleSoft. Only time will tell. Scott McNealy at Sun lost focus. They were in a position to make Java the number one computer language in use. Their misguided mission? Get Bill Gates. Even Microsoft believed in Java. Instead of staying on target and working with Microsoft to make Java the number one computer language, they argued with Microsoft about implementations. Lawsuits flew. Overnight, Visual J disappeared. A couple of years later, .NET and C# appear. The jury is still out on Sun. Even though Scott lost focus after Larry, Scott could still bury Sun faster than Larry buries Oracle. Like Oracle’s fate, only time will tell for Sun. And then there is Darl McBride and who? Over night a little company called Caldera became the SCO Group. The Santa Cruz Operation (SCO) had its own little sordid past. Caldera made some kind of deal with them back in 2000. Then Caldera let the name sit on a shelf for a couple of years. In August of 2002 Caldera became the SCO Group. Was Caldera in some kind of trouble? I’ll let you research their financial records and decide for yourself. Darl said they were changing names because of "brand recognition." If the SCO name had such brand recognition, why did Caldera let it sit on a shelf for two years? Instead of trying to make their flavor of UNIX, Linux, or whatever the best operating system around so that they could go head-to-head with Novell and Microsoft, they lost focus. So what’s the SCO Group’s misguided mission? At least it doesn’t seem to be get Bill Gates like the others. No. Instead of trying to make the best operating system around, they are filing law suits against anyone and everyone they can find that has ever spoken the words UNIX and Linux. As Dr. Phil might ask, "How’s that working?" Well, take a look at their financial statements. Read the press. And has there been a ton of that over the last couple of years. I’ll let you make your own decision. It’s too early to tell The SCO Group’s fate. I think you can tell what path I personally think they are on. Here are some interesting articles about The SCO Group at ZD Net: IBM issues subpoenas for tech giants' SCO dealings SCO: spin and counterspin Judge slams SCO's lack of evidence against IBM SCO skipping the tough questions How to fight against patent terrorism The cost of SCO SCO's McBride takes over the offense SCO: No plans for new lawsuits SCO, BayStar resume squabbling SCO flops in DaimlerChrysler Unix lawsuit Mixed rulings advance two SCO cases SCO suits target two big Linux users SCO sues Novell over copyright claims SCO seeks to buttress case against Big Blue GPL could get its day in court. Finally. Here are some interesting articles about The SCO Group at InfoWorld: SCO to claim IBM used unlicensed code in AIX 5L SCO CEO: No need to sue more customers SCO bets on its copyright lawsuit Linux under siege: Tracking the course of SCO's lawsuit Here are some interesting articles about The SCO Group at LWN.net: SCO Files Claim of Appeal in DC -- Claim Being Evaluated (Groklaw) The Grumpy Editor's guide to 2005 (See the third paragraph under the "Legal and political " heading and the replies farther down.) SCO ends another year In closing, let me repeat a saying you probably have heard before. "Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it ..." Keep your focus. Whatever your business, strive to make it the best around. Know your competitors. Don’t try to "get them." Strive to "better" them. And don’t start thinking that the "American way" is to sue everyone. I’m sorry, in spite of some past verdicts, it is NOT McDonalds' fault if your burn you leg with coffee if you are stupid enough to put it between your legs and then go driving. And it is also not any of the fast-food restaurant’s fault if you get fat eating their food. Ever hear of self control? It's time Americans started being their very best and stopped blaming everyone else for their problems. Sco

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