A Microsoft effort to vilify Linux and other "open source" software appears to be backfiring, with the campaign drawing criticism from legal experts as well as unifying the movement's often-fractious group of leaders. The initiative has included speeches and statements in recent weeks by Microsoft officials, and reached a crescendo of sorts in a recent Chicago Sun-Times interview with Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, in which he called Linux "a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual-property sense to everything it touches." Microsoft maintains that open-source poses a hidden threat because of licensing provisions that accompany the software. The Redmond, Wash., company appears to be fighting an uphill battle, since open-source code has become important for a growing number of companies.
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