GNHLUG announces agreement with Microsoft

[Ben Scott]

Concord, NH, and Redmond, WA -- 1 Apr 2008

  GNHLUG is pleased to announce that we have entered into an IP
(Intellectual Property) licensing agreement with Microsoft
Corporation.  Under the terms of this agreement, Microsoft offers
GNHLUG members a covenant not to sue, providing immunity from
prosecution due to any patent violations in the Linux source code.  It
also provides GNHLUG members with a non-transferable, revocable
license to Microsoft file formats and algorithms, such as those used
by Office Open XML and Silverlight.

  Nogard Tercel, special legal representative to GNHLUG, said, "Under
this new model, members will realize unprecedented choice and
flexibility through improved interoperability and manageability
between Windows and Linux."  He went on to say how the agreement would
give members confidence that Linux and Microsoft technologies can be
used and deployed in their environments, while remaining compliant
with Microsoft intellectual property.

  "Both organizations had to think creatively about how to create an
intellectual property bridge between the two worlds of open source and
proprietary software," said Sutekh Iblis, senior vice president and
general counsel for Microsoft. "This bridge is built on respect for
the innovations of each organization and the open source community,
and a passion for what we can deliver for our users together."

  In exchange for these protections and privileges, GNHLUG will be
instituting a system of paid member dues.  Members will be charged an
annual fee, in increments of $5 dollars per month.  These fees will be
automatically assessed to all current subscribers of all GNHLUG
mailing lists, as well as any attendees to GNHLUG meetings in the 2008
calendar year.  In order to facilitate this process, certain member
information, such as names and email addresses, are being provided to
Microsoft.  Members can be assured their privacy will be protected, as
this process is being supervised by independent auditors from Caldera
International.

About GNHLUG

GNHLUG is the Greater NH Linux Users Group, and is a registered
non-profit corporation in the state of New Hampshire, formed to
promote the use, development, and education in the use of, the Linux
operating system and associated software, especially open source
software.  GNHLUG can be found at: http://www.gnhlug.org

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses
realize their full potential.  Microsoft can be found at:
http://www.microsoft.com

Disclaimer

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not of Microsoft, much to their dismay.  Linux is a registered
trademark of Linus Torvalds. This message is a parody, and should be
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