[Infowarrior] - Bye Bye, Darl McBride

[Richard Forno]

SCO fires CEO Darl McBride, architect of litigation strategy
SCO CEO Darl McBride has finally been let go by the serial litigator.  
In an SEC filing published today, SCO reveals that the controversial  
CEO has been ousted as part of the latest reorganization plan.

By Ryan Paul

http://arstechnica.com/open-source/news/2009/10/sco-fires-ceo-darl-mcbride-architect-of-litigation-strategy.ars?utm
In an SEC filing published today, SCO revealed that CEO Darl McBride  
has been terminated and is no longer with the company. The decision to  
fire the controversial CEO is part of a restructuring plan that is  
based on recommendations made by the Chapter 11 trustee who was  
assigned to SCO by the justice department.

McBride was the architect and public face of SCO's misguided campaign  
against Linux. He claimed that the open source operating system  
infringed on SCO's copyright and included a significant quantity of  
code stolen from UNIX System V. On the basis of this claim, SCO  
threatened to sue a multitude of corporate Linux users and demanded  
hefty licensing fees. During the ensuing litigation fiasco, an  
internal SCO memo was revealed which indicated that SCO's own internal  
code audits of Linux found no actual evidence of infringement. The  
courts eventually determined that SCO never even owned the relevant  
UNIX copyrights in the first place.

Even after SCO's deception was exposed and the company effectively  
lost its case, Darl McBride continued to insist that the company has  
evidence of System V code in Linux. No such evidence has been  
presented and McBride's argument directly contradicts testimony given  
by other SCO executives. McBride's stubborn detachment from reality  
has made him a subject of ridicule in the Linux community.

The SEC filing indicates that SCO COO Jeff Hunsaker and CFO Ken  
Nielsen will assume the responsibility of managing SCO in  
collaboration with the trustee. The company does not intend to name a  
new CEO. Additional details of the restructuring plan are said to be  
forthcoming, but the company says that it has undertaken several cost- 
cutting measures including a "a modest reduction in SCO's workforce"  
and the sale of additional assets.

In a statement issued by SCO's new leadership, the company indicates  
that it plans to continue its litigation efforts and will move forward  
with the appeals process. The company also says that it plans to  
continue supporting its UNIX products. This potentially indicates that  
SCO has given up on trying to unload its UnixWare assets, a plan that  
has fallen through several times now as various proposed deals have  
evaporated.

"These actions, while difficult, are essential to SCO becoming a more  
agile and efficient company, not just for this year, but for years to  
come," said Hunsaker in a statement. "This restructuring plan  
reinforces SCO's ability to continue to sell and support its products  
while servicing the needs of our customers and partners on a worldwide  
basis through the stabilization of our financial situation."

SCO's numerous reorganization plans have consistently failed. It seems  
unlikely that the company is still capable of resurrecting itself. The  
courts are also growing impatient with the company's antics.  
Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross blocked SCO's last attempted asset sale  
and remarked in his ruling that the company's hopes for litigation  
success were like a bad remix of Waiting for Godot. Now that Darl has  
been axed, one wonders how long the rest of the company will continue  
its struggle for survival.