Microsoft patents sudo

[Nermal]

Anyone who has used the Terminal will no doubt be familiar with the sudo command. Well, it looks like Microsoft has tried to patent it.

 

[OutThere]

Not that impressive seeing as I just patented sliced bread...

 

[friarbayliff]

Exactly, because clearly the crude separation of the bread done by previous persons does not apply. I would also like to announce my invention of new and improved 'cut bread' - not affiliated with sliced bread.

 

[Nermal]

And likewise, the Nermal Company is proud to introduce Divided Bread™

 

[Apple Hobo]

stevejobs% sudo rm -rf * Microsoft

This would be nice to see!

 

[Nermal]

stevejobs% sudo rm -rf * Microsoft

Requesting permission to post that on Slashdot

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

Forgive me, but is not "sudo" a command? If so, how can a patent be allowed?

 

[Abstract]

Why didn't I think of that!!

*goes through history books for stuff to patent*

 

[Apple Hobo]

Requesting permission to post that on Slashdot

Permission granted.

 

[Nermal]

Done

 

[MacFan26]

stevejobs% sudo rm -rf * Microsoft

very nice Seriously, how can they expect to patent a command that's been around for years? Hm, if they succeed though, there should be enough commands lying around for us to all have our own patent!

 

[broken_keyboard]

They really need to hire some computer experts at the patent office.
It's too important not to...

 

[Bruce Lee, PhD]

Anyone who has used the Terminal will no doubt be familiar with the sudo command. Well, it looks like Microsoft has tried to patent it.

I've only read the abstract but it doesn't seem to be describing sudo. As I read it, they're talking about two separate processes: the user process makes a request (e.g. via a shared pipe, a socket, or whatever) to the admin process, and the admin process takes action. Sudo is a setuid binary you invoke and which then executes commands for you. The effect in either case is that you have the ability to run privileged commands, but the method is different, with different implications for performance and granularity of control.

In any case, it's a laughable patent, no different in principle from, say, connecting to a database and requesting some data to which you may or may not have access.

 

[macsrus]

If true that is the craziest thing I have ever heard of...
Sudo has been around for what.... 30 years now?
I mean think about it.... The only company who makes an OS who has never used a sudo command...

Inconceivable..

 

[OutThere]

The only company who makes an OS who has never used a sudo command...

Because windows people don't need silly sudo! Without asking for that pesky password, their coworkers can come in and fdisk for them!

 

[stoid]

Is there already a patent on Ctrl-Alt-Del? Cause you could nab some serious royalties on that!

 

[iMeowbot]

Done

And mod point applied.

 

[Giaguara]

I think I'll try to patent reboot .. and ls, and fsck, and top, and vim and man ...

 

[Mac-Xpert]

??

So does this mean I could patent "the wheel"

 

[dbauer]

I got a little different thought from reading the patent request. It looks like MS is trying to patent the process of using an external data store (be it a text file, database, etc..) that has admin account credentials in it that a differenet command (runas or something like that) could use so that you could run commands on the PC that you would normally not have rights to.

I know that by default, runas can not pass the account password to it in a batch file, only interactively, which makes it useless for installing patches and things in a script. This might make it easier (and of course more dangerous).

Maybe I'm just reading it wrong though....