Poor Bill

More Resaons to Make the Switch

And leave MS for the brave new world of Linux, from an article in Information Week:

With the recent release of Microsoft’s newest potential cash cows, Windows Vista and Office 2007, the company is expecting a wave of upgrades from users seeking the latest functionality. But what if you’re not looking for new bells and whistles? What if you want to keep your old operating systems, such as Windows 2000, running as long as possible?

Microsoft isn’t making it easy for you. Office 2007 and the software for the company’s much-hyped Zune music player won’t install on Windows 2000. As other new products emerge from Microsoft in 2007 and beyond, more and more of them are likely to leave Windows 2000 out of the party.

It’s clear that the public’s choices are being severly limited by Microsoft insistence that we all upgrade.

But what if… Microsoft is compelled to make Windows 2000 and it’s variants public domain?

Nah, it’ll never happen.

I bought a system with XP MCE loaded on it a year ago, and do not plan to upgrade for several years, if ever.

I’m quite happy as a clam, and maintain that everything that I want and need in the foreseeable future (in regard to my personal computing needs) I have now.

I’m determined my next OS will be a Linux variant. I’ve set aside for now the process of installing a dual-boot system at home because of some technical issues I’ve yet to work out.

But once I have some time, I am confident I can overcome these niggling problems.

What a Web we Weave

Obviously, I took a break last weekend. I’ll give the installation another go this extended weekend. I want to check in with the forums and see iwhat answers there are to my questions (and pleas for assistance).

Meantime, I ruminate over this Novell-MS imbroglio.

After this deal was announced, the first reports were favorable. I recall reading that this might be Microsoft extending an olive branch to the Linux community.

A few days later, after we learn what the terms and conditions are (and especially the reverse payment), it’s become crystal clear this is more of a challenge to the FOSS community by the corporate hit men.

The obvious ploy- to increase FUD- Fear, uncertainty, and Doubt- among the ranks of Linux users.

BTW, don’t cut Novell any slack for their involvement- it’s a bald faced ploy by them to increase market share, and at minimum, their support business.

Also, the IP (intellectual Property) ploy being made by everyone from IBM to Mattel these days, MS, in the tradition of big business, knows it merely needs to throw it’s weight around to instill the dreaded FUD.

After all, it costs money to fight a lawsuit- and if MS expects to start naming ‘John Doe’ as plaintiffs in their forthcoming lawsuits, taking a page out of the RIAA’s terror manifesto, I think it’s safe to say, you’ll see a very interesting battle happen as strategies.

Even recently, Eban Moglen, one of the pioneers of free software, put forth the theory that MS absolution of Novell Suse users indemnifies all Linux distros, which might not hold up in the wrong one, but it’s clear, the return volley has been fired.

[Eban Moglen] said he and others have started work on updating the license to close the loophole by inserting a clause stating that a promise not to sue, such as the one given by Microsoft, would be automatically applicable to everyone.

FUD: Much Ado About Novell-MS

Nicholas Petreley analyzes the unholy alliance deal on linuxjournal.com, and goes completely over my head (lots of legal hairs being split open just to look at their guts. The horror.)

I swear, I could hear my eyes glaze over, which is funny ‘cos that’s when I realized my brain had already disengaged.

Still, for those who revel in such minutia, which is like a really big deal, it appears some very sinister and highly psychological tactics have been utilized in this unholy alliance deal.

“For five full years, Microsoft says it will promote SUSE. For five years, Novell will guarantee its customers immunity to patent lawsuits by Microsoft.”

Which sort of implies that’s enough time for MS to deploy it’s vast array of borg agents to take down F/OSS once and for all, in an effort to win the fight against communism (xommunism?).

Apparently this is a tactic that has been used to great effect before, and as Nicholas sees it, Novell got greedy & walked right into their trap:

“What happens after the five years pass? I seem to recall Microsoft made five year (or similar length) deals with Sybase, Symantec, Corel, Borland, Citrix, and other companies that thrived before the deals only to be reduced to insignificant gnats afterward. All of these deals involved giving the company a bundle of money and promising them they’d prosper. All of these companys (sic) were promptly discarded as partners once Microsoft gained what it needed to eliminate them as serious competition.”

Not hard to tell who is who’s bitch in this scenario.

I think this is getting a bit outside the scope of this blog, which is focused on the implementation and use of Linux by an average user. But it is probably important, as I wouldn’t want the choice of Suse (made before this unholy alliance deal was announced) to come back and haunt me.

I already feel like a virgin at a toga party.

I think I’ll look a little deeper into which other, if any, distro(s) will partition and install a dual boot on my Sony/XP/MCE. It must promise to do it as easily as Novell promises Suse will (though that has yet to come true) .

This Quotation Sheds a Little Light

The big announcement last week that Microsoft and Novell had entered into an agreement (or unholy alliance- you decide) for the former to add support for Novell’s particluar version of Linux, has me scratching my head.

What’s it mean? Is it simply Ballmer’s response to Larry’s firing a shot across the bow?

Let’s go back in time, say five or so years (isn’t the web a wonderful thing?), to an article that might provide a little insight into the possible motives behind this unsual, and so far unclear alliance.

“Linux is a cancer that attaches itself in an intellectual property sense to everything it touches.” -Steve Ballmer, Microsoft

I would be remiss if I didn’t say that, while my selection to go with Suse only had to do with it being known to be the easiest to install (so far, my first attempt has been a bust) I’m sort of wondering if I shouldn’t reconsider.

This penguin is looking a bit tainted.

Dvorak posits that this might be the way the old guard blanches the thinly distributed Linux ranks. Perhaps ticking to life the wrath of Richard Stallman.

UPDATE
This article pries the corners back (hopefully nobody was blinded by the red death ray), forecasting what could happen as a result of the unholy alliance deal.

Can you believe this stuff happening now?

I don’t know if this is a good thing or not. I chose Novell’s Suse (SLED10) based on past experience, plus the fact that it reportedly installs best on to a machine with Windows already installed.

“‘Under the pact, which isn’t final, Microsoft will offer sales support of Suse Linux, a version of the operating system sold by Novell. The two companies have also agreed to develop technologies to make it easier for users to run both Suse Linux and Microsoft’s Windows on their computers. The two companies are expected to announce details of their plan today at a press conference in San Francisco. In addition, Microsoft won’t assert rights over patents over software technology that may be incorporated into Suse Linux, the people said. Businesses that use Linux have long worried that Microsoft would one day file patent infringement suits against sellers of the rival software.’”

Being optimistic, I don’t expect this will make things worse, only better.

Maybe soon, there will be an ability to write to the NTFS file system (currenly Linux only reads). Plus, MS has expressed a desire to speak with other vendors. If you can’t beat ‘em…

Or, perhaps this situation of ’strange bedfellows’ is a result of Oracle’s going after Red Hat. Or perhaps a secret collaboration between Larry and Bill (dear old pals) to divide and conquer? Nah, that sounds to conspiracy-y.

For my purpose, it’s not even worth thinking about, so I will just forge ahead.