With all the attention Google and Yahoo! get as being big bad giants, Microsoft is off the radar for most people. Not so for Linux users (at least those in the know). Microsoft has stated that "Linux violates over 228 patents." How? I don't know, since Linux runs on a kernel more similar to Unix (hence the *nix) than Windows. When Microsoft talks about these patents, they refer to them as "unspecified patents." I can only think of two reasons for not specifying their claims.

1. They have legal concerns, want to be scary, and don't want to give Cannonical (Ubuntu) and other Linux companies time to gather a defense.
2. If the patent claims are false, they fear that specifying the patents will allow savvy programmers to show these claims to be false.

Mark Shuttleworth, CEO of Cannonical (Ubuntu), stated that Cannonical would not negotiate with Microsoft under the threat of patent lawsuits.

We have declined to discuss any agreement with Microsoft under the threat of unspecified patent infringements. Allegations of “infringement of unspecified patents” carry no weight whatsoever. We don’t think they have any legal merit, and they are no incentive for us to work with Microsoft on any of the wonderful things we could do together. A promise by Microsoft not to sue for infringement of unspecified patents has no value at all and is not worth paying for. It does not protect users from the real risk of a patent suit from a pure-IP-holder (Microsoft itself is regularly found to violate such patents and regularly settles such suits). People who pay protection money for that promise are likely living in a false sense of security.

Something I gleaned from this is that Microsoft can, or thinks it can, sue Linux users for these alleged unspecified patent infringements. What does Microsoft hope to gain? More headaches for it's support team? I cannot see a scenario where Microsoft suing Linux users will look good for them, PR-wise. This must all be F.U.D. This begs the question, "What could Microsfot gain?" The only thing I can think of, is that they wanted something to hold over Novell and others to create an agreement to protect themselves as well. Sounds weird, I know, but hey...that's Microsoft.