Microsoft Scrambling to Explain Ballmer Comment on Red Hat Linux

A team of Microsoft spokespeople have been working throughout the day to devise a plausible explanation for a comment made by CEO Steve Ballmer during a company gathering in the UK, which on its face appears to say it is considering litigation against users of Red Hat Linux for patent infringement.

But one spokesperson acknowledged late this afternoon that multiple sources have yet to come to an agreement over what the company should say.

Ballmer's comments came during a Q&A session after a talk on the UK software economy, and the role online services will play in that economy, that took place on Microsoft's British campus.