If software companies had had more faith in copyright in the early days, would GNU or Linux ever have happened?
Here's the basis for the speculation:

As free and open source software receives greater attention and recognition, several companies and packages are emerging as clear leaders and important influencers as well as visionaries that are sure to make a mark in the very near future. Here are my picks for who’s making a mark today and tomorrow on the FOSS world.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a technology patent case that has the potential to throw the entire technology supply chain into upheaval -- or prompt closer adherence to technology licensing terms.

Cutting-edge technology -- much of it operated by amateurs -- has played a remarkably powerful role in documenting the bloodshed in Myanmar and helping to spark a global outcry. Video clips of the country's biggest political protests in nearly two decades, surreptitiously filmed and filed via the Internet, have made their way onto sites like YouTube.

I have to wonder- where on Earth did Ms. Fairchild get the idea that alienating her customers is a good business practice? So what if she finds sexist, demeaning humor funny? It doesn't belong in Linux Journal.

I use Windows and Linux every day. They’re both competent operating systems, each with reasonable applications and windowing systems. I find myself more productive on a Linux system, though, because of a few very simple differences.

It's almost shameful how paltry Novell's understanding of open source is. I don't say this to denigrate anyone personally, but when I read things like this from Groklaw I just can't understand how Novell manages to say "open source" with a straight face.

Linus Torvalds has launched a blistering attack on security programmers who object to adding the Smack application to the upcoming 2.6.24 Linux kernel.
In an often heated exchange, Torvalds accused security programmers of being too concerned with theoretical problems and not enough with practical applications.