[nylug-talk] Microsoft Linux

[Ruben Safir]

On Mon, Nov 06, 2006 at 01:58:57AM -0500, Jay Sulzberger wrote:
> 
> 
> On Fri, 3 Nov 2006, alex khalil <alex at khalil.org> wrote:
> 
> > Well, almost: Microsoft will support Novell's SUSE Linux and enhance
> >interoperability
> >
> >http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116249026689311557-helTbrheLKgbaJ5iO5z40ZFCiOs_20061109.html?mod=blogs
> 
> Novell has agreed to pay Microsoft a fee for every copy of Novell
> SUSE sold.  These payments from Novell to Microsoft are not
> lawful under the terms of the settlement of the federal
> anti-trust action against Microsoft.
> 
> Novell has agreed to make this payment because Novell accepts the
> principle of software patents.  Novell's practice is even more
> ridiculous: Microsoft points out that Microsoft has many software
> patents, and Novell pays without litigation.


As best as I can understand this, evidently this is not true.
If anything it seems to be the very opposite.

http://www.thestreet.com/_googlen/newsanalysis/techsoftware/10320646.html?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

Microsoft (MSFT - commentary - Cramer's Take - Rating) will make an
upfront payment to Novell (NOVL - commentary - Cramer's Take - Rating)
of $240 million and spend $94 million over five years to market Linux
as part of the unusual agreement announced by the two companies last week.

Microsoft has also agreed not to enter into a collaborative arrangement
with another Linux distributor for three years, according to a Novell
filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday. That
provision of the agreement effectively shuts out Red Hat (RHAT -
commentary - Cramer's Take - Rating), the leading distributor of Linux,
and the company with the most to lose as Microsoft cozies up to Novell.

Last week, Microsoft and Novell agreed to collaborate in an effort to
make it simpler for businesses to run Windows and Novell's Suse Linux
on the same server in a process called "virtualization."

Microsoft will also put its considerable marketing muscle behind Novell's
Linux products.

A separate provision of the agreement concerns patent and
intellectual-property protection. Under that provision, Microsoft will
make a net upfront payment to Novell of $108 million, and Novell will make
ongoing payments of at least $40 million over five years to Microsoft.

The exact amount of those payments will depend upon the volume of revenue
from sales of various Novell products.

Shares of Microsoft recently rose a penny to $28.96 after hours; Novell
shares gained 29 cents to $6.79.



> 
> By this agreement, Novell has joined with Microsoft to use
> software patents against free software authors and users, and
> against for-profit companies and not-for-profit organizations.
> 

Eh


We predicted over 4 years ago that it was inevitable that MS would
make its own "Linux" product and this is just a step on the inevitable
way to that happening.  Our work at the EGOV-OS meeting with NY Fair Use
was targeting exactly these problems and the successful bluring of the
Free Software line with the "Open Source" line onward to the MS "Shared
Secret" line.  In fact, the most interesting spin on this is by Bruce
Perens, who until now has all but paved the road for this events, and even
worse things to come.

http://www.mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=4807



> Do not help Novell.  Remove SUSE from your machines, and never
> pay any software patent claims.  Let the claimants sue, and
> meanwhile, publish without fear.
> 

I'll take it off mine right after you remove it from yours.

Ruben


-- 
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