SCO; Open-Source; MIT

To Err Is ...


Thanks for a fair column on Darl McBride and SCO ("SCO's House of Suits," Dec. 9 2003). Many of us have seen this thing go from a realistic goal (the COFF Libraries) to asinine ("We own millions of lines of Linux code!"). We have been surprised at the media's presumption of weight of the company's proof.

McBride's behavior has matched the worst I have seen in my career in the industry--that is, the failure to admit making a mistake. It is an object lesson that would serve companies well, because people will respect you more if you admit your failings.

McBride and the SCO Group probably won't do that, though: They show no signs of slowing down, or of thinking at all.

There are some who mistake honesty for failure, but I would rather be honest than to deny reality. Thanks again for a realistic view of the dangers of denial.

Charles Talk
Content Management Lead (Company name withheld by request)
[email protected]