For example, only software behemoths can afford to collect a portfolio of software patents to protect themselves from the other software behemoths. But I as a little guy can't afford to patent any of the imminently patentable ideas in my code, because I'm not expecting to make money off it. But I have to worry that someone else will come along and patent the same idea and hassle me about it. The open source movement does not yet have equal protection under the law. As a rule, most of the open source movement does not compete directly with Microsoft.
Operating systems are the important exception to that rule, for obvious reasons.
The recent ruling doesn't change operating systems technology at all, of course. What it does do is turn operating systems into a better cultural wedge, and the rest of us mammals will soon be following Linus Torvalds into the new ecological niche, which hopefully will turn out to be the whole continent if we can pursuade the dinosaurs to go extinct of their own accord. It may take an eon or two though. I think the finding will be a valuable tool for educating software purchasers about the perils of getting locked in by Microsoft. I'm opposed to government intervention.