Though reviled by Linux enthusiasts, SCO Group’s chief sticks to his guns

Until he launched his legal campaign last year, hardly anyone had heard of Darl McBride. Today, he’s one of the most hated men in the computer
software business.

“I believe his unpopularity far exceeds that of Bill Gates, who is number two,” said software developer Ron Newman after hearing McBride speak at
Harvard Law School on Monday.

“Bill Gates has produced something of value,” Newman said of the cofounder of Microsoft Corp., who has been reviled for abusing his company’s monopoly
on desktop operating systems. But Newman said that McBride “has produced nothing of value.”

Microsoft refused to comment on the popularity, or lack thereof, of its CEO. But there’s no question that McBride, chief executive of SCO Group Inc.
of Lindon, Utah, is widely despised. He’s a favorite target for bitter insults on leading Internet technology sites like Slashdot. He’s gotten hateful
e-mails and been peppered with nuisance calls after someone published his phone number on the Internet.