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) .

“Let Me See the Green”

Novell will be paid about one fiscal quarter worth of revenue by Microsoft in their unholy alliance deal for Suse support.

Appropos of yesterday’s post following up on this strange business deal, which still has me wondering what is behind it. Something is cooking, eh? Novell is licensing Microsoft IP, and Microsoft is paying them.

I’m not the only one, apparently, as Novell created a FAQ to deal with the questions being asked.

What’s interesting to note is they don”t seem to answer any of the questions not being asked :^/