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Here comes the leviathan. I don't know what effect this will eventually have on Chrome and Mozilla Firefox, but I'm certain it will be good.

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I doubt they're coming after Chrome and Firefox. Given that they've never sued Linux directly (only companies that sell products with Linux bundled -- e.g. Tom Tom), they don't seem to have any interest in going after free software (or just freeware in general) directly.

More likely, this is to strengthen their case in the mobile patent wars, given that every smartphone comes with a bundled browser. In particular, they have an ongoing dispute with Motorola.

This is the more cunning way. Something like Linux would be hard to sue, and people would be faster to notice and cry foul. By picking your targets carefully you can efficiently make the whole industry scared to use an 'undesired' technology. Expect more of this, especially in mobile.

It's not just about scaring people away from technologies. Microsoft's Android patent licensing is a multi-billion dollar business in its own right.

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