Microsoft's 'on again off again'
relationship with Linux is now seems 'off again' after it issued a patent
infringement lawsuit against TomTom, maker of GPS systems.
The three charges are all related to
Linux file management technologies which are under the bonnet of TomTom
gear. However it does not seem that Microsoft
is miffed at the Linux in TomTom's package, more the way that the outfit uses
the Linux kernel.
In other words it is a normal business
dispute between two companies and Linux is not the focal point of the
action. TomTom has been in hot water over
patents for years and some of them are to do with the way it uses Linux.