Microsoft makes Linux pact with Novell

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No, you are just wrong again

You have a talent for it. The times have changed. 3 years ago, MS was trying to laugh off Linux. 2 years ago it was a communist evil entity. 1 year ago, "get the fud" campaign started, now we see MS accepting the inevitable, and KNOWING they will lose customers if they try to continue to force (everywhere they can, they still will) proprietary MS only solutions on the more and more Linux savvy business.

Novel has some pretty impressive patents, however, Linux is Linux. There isn't Suse linux kernel, and Mandriva linux kernel, there is a base kernel. Except for what modules are loaded, it is ALL THE SAME SOURCE. All that aside, MS knows that it would go down in a heap of flames faster than the Hindenburg if it attempted to play the "patent" card and for years I have stated they are too smart to do it.

I doubt that anything of significance, if there are infringements, couldn't be coded out of anything in days or weeks, however, you forget IBM. In a war between MS and the ENTIRE linux world, IBM leading the mutual assured destruction patent portfolio way, MS would be crippled beyond belief (as temporarily would be Linux). Let's take a guess, 1 million open source developers working round the clock to scour code, eliminate ANYTHING infringing as a matter of principle VS what, a single company attempting to rewrite their entire code base. We saw how long that took (Vista).

In two to three weeks, as squeeky clean Linux's emerge, what is an OEM to do? Not sell computers (there are injunctions against XP and Vista dontcha know, part of the MAD). MSs worst scenario realized, OEMs have no choice but to start selling Linux.

In a world where revenue through litigation abounds, if Linux had serious infringement problems, Linux would have already been brought to it's knees.

The impact of this announcement is Suse may become a preferred choice over Redhat, but Linux as a whole, only gets stronger and stronger and stronger.

TripleII

Posted by: TripleII   Posted on: 11/02/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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