Main "Hating Microsoft in a nutshell" thread

[DavidMD]

Hello, cybertron.

Yes, I do. The reaction from the OSS community has been largely negative from what I've seen, but I have to admit that my first reaction to the fact that MS was partnering with Novell was that it was a big concession on their part. Of course that was tempered with the knowledge of Microsoft's embrace, extend, extinguish strategy so I'm still not sure where I stand. It will be interesting to see how the potential issues this raises with the GPL pan out too.

Thank you for your thoughts.

I am not one to react rashly, especially given the fact that I have used SuSE Linux for four years, but if Debian "testing"/"Etch" works out for me -- after careful reflection of course -- I may possibly switch to Debian as my primary distro and eventually stop using SuSE.

Initially, I felt neutral about Novell's acquistion of SuSE, but now I have negative, or at least ambivalent, feelings. If Novell had not acquired SuSE, I don't think that Microsoft would have approached SuSE -- but I could be wrong.

Thank you, again, cybertron.

Cordially,

David

[DavidMD]

Hello, Parcival.

In a German blog, an interpretation of the partnership between Microsoft and Novell was that Microsoft uses the partnership to get a hold of Novell's customer database. After that they get their lost customers back.

Thank you for relating the interpretation from the German blog.

If Microsoft uses Novell's customer database and contacts customers who are using Novell's SuSE Linux products (such as SLES) only, Microsoft might get some "interesting" reactions.

I am in that database, but as a Linux customer only.

Thanks, Parcival!

Cordially,

David

[je_fro]

gotta merge this puppy with the Main Hating MS thread....

[enshum]

For me the worst case scenario would be to buy a new Novell Suse 10+ OS get it home open the box and find that damn MS EULA stuck on my -their cds. Since the very begining of MS the only thing they ever developed that didn't fail x times per day, week , month or year is the EULA. If more people would take the time to sit down and read that document and understand what it says MS would be out of business. Microsoft does not sell operating systems or software they sell licenses and thats all they have ever sold and thats all they will ever sell.

ed

[ladoga]

"Samba Team Asks Novell to Reconsider":
http://news.samba.org/announcements/team_to_novell/

[DavidMD]

Hello, ladoga.

"Samba Team Asks Novell to Reconsider":
http://news.samba.org/announcements/team_to_novell/

Thank you for sharing this link to the announcement from the Samba Web site.

I have basically finalized my decision to stop using SuSE Linux, after using SuSE exclusively for the over four years that I have used Linux -- because of the Novell/Microsoft agreement.

My plan is to give Debian "testing"/"Etch" a try and my hope is to use Debian as my "main" distribution. The change will not be free of confusion, but -- as a matter of principle -- I do not want to use SuSE.

Thank you, again, ladoga!

Cordially,

David

[Syngin]

Wow. Its great to see the Samba team speak up like this.

Note: Considering the large drop in postings in /dev/random/ could we consider not grouping updates on the Novell / Microsoft deal into the main Hating MS thread?

[Syngin]

Redhat's response to the Novell / MS venture:

http://www.redhat.com/promo/believe/

[DavidMD]

Hello, Craig.

Redhat's response to the Novell / MS venture:

http://www.redhat.com/promo/believe/

Thank you for sharing the link to Red Hat's response to the Novell and Microsoft agreement.

I especially like the following statement in the response:

...An innovation tax is unthinkable. Free and open source software provide the necessary environment for true innovation. Innovation without fear or threat. Activities that isolate communities or limit upstream adoption will inevitably stifle innovation.

Thanks, again, Craig!

Cordially,

David

[cybertron]

I feel like it's going to be very interesting to watch what happens over the next couple of years. It looks like there's going to be a bit of a trial by fire for open source software with Red Hat squarely in the sights of a couple of major proprietary companies, and this Novell-Microsoft deal threatening to divide the community. Very interesting indeed...

[leonpmu]

I found this on the BBC technology site, they are pretty much pro open source, so I wasn't too surprised to see this clearly on heir site today..

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6144782.stm

[psych-major]

This was also covered on Slashdot

[DavidMD]

Hello, cybertron.

I feel like it's going to be very interesting to watch what happens over the next couple of years. It looks like there's going to be a bit of a trial by fire for open source software with Red Hat squarely in the sights of a couple of major proprietary companies, and this Novell-Microsoft deal threatening to divide the community. Very interesting indeed...

I agree with you.

I can remember some years ago when people were starting to take Linux seriously, but Microsoft was not. I believe the companies with which Linux is now strongly competing thought of Linux as a "fad" or an operating system for "hobbyists," and then Microsoft began to take Linux more seriously -- and Microsoft's now infamous "Halloween" documents became public. Now, I think Microsoft is trying to do whatever it can to compete with Linux and open-source software (which I fear might make OSS efforts such as OpenOffice.org more difficult, in terms of compatibility with Microsoft Office files, because Microsoft won't want to make things easier for OOo.org or similar efforts).

Times will be interesting!

Cordially,

David

[afterburntdw]

Here's an interview from Computerworld with Bill Hill, General Manager for Platform Strategy at Microsoft. An excerpt:

"Computerworld: What is Microsoft’s motivation for the deal with Novell? BH: This is an intellectual property deal. There will be an overlap at some point between our intellectual property and open source that we have to resolve."

The full article is here:

http://www.computerworld.com/action/...ticleId=273006

[afterburntdw]

Another very interesting read:

http://money.cnn.com/blogs/legalpad/...azines_fortune