[sf-lug] Fwd: [conspire] Novell and Microsoft Agree to Sell Each Others Products: Bad News for Novell?

[Tony]

Well, I guess I better start taking Windows based
courses now to become a Microsoft Certified
Professional, MCP. 

--- jim stockford <jim at well.com> wrote:

> 
> (last sentence of message below:
> "...the new ground they're breaking is probably
> Novell's gravesite."
> me:
> "I hope so!")
> 
> > To: conspire at linuxmafia.com
> > Subject: [conspire] Novell and Microsoft Agree to
> Sell Each Others 
> > Products: Bad News for Novell?
> >
> > Interesting article...
> >
> > Below is an article  "Novell: We Surrender"
> > by Daniel Lyons, of Forbes, 11.03.06, 11:45 AM ET
> > I wonder how enterprise folk like SpikeSource are
> regarding this 
> > development.
> > _______________________________
> > Three years ago this week, ailing software maker
> Novell paid $210 
> > million to
> > acquire Suse, a German version of the free
> operating system called 
> > Linux.
> > Novell hoped that by embracing Linux, an
> alternative to the decidedly 
> > unfree
> > Windows operating system from Microsoft, it could
> revive its dying 
> > software
> > business.
> >
> > On Thursday, Novell (nasdaq: NOVL - news - people
> ) effectively 
> > conceded that
> > this effort has failed.
> >
> > On stage with Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news -
> people ) in San 
> > Francisco,
> > Novell announced that the two companies would
> cooperate to make the 
> > Windows
> > operating system and Linux work well together.
> More significantly, 
> > Microsoft
> > will resell Novell's version of Linux, and Novell
> will start paying 
> > royalties
> > to Microsoft in exchange for Microsoft's pledge
> not to enforce patent 
> > claims
> > against Novell and its customers.
> >
> > Novell tried to put a brave face on things, even
> claiming that its 
> > chief
> > executive, Ron Hovsepian, had initiated the talks
> with Microsoft. In 
> > fact,
> > Microsoft's lawyers have been quietly pressuring
> open-source companies 
> > like
> > Novell for more than a year and warning their
> customers that they 
> > could be
> > vulnerable to patent infringement claims because
> they're using Linux.
> >
> > By partnering with Microsoft, Novell protects
> itself and its customers 
> > from
> > such claims. Novell also gets a powerful new
> distribution partner: 
> > Microsoft
> > says it will sell Novell's Suse Linux to its own
> customers and aims to
> > distribute 70,000 copies a year.
> >
> > Novell also gains a way to differentiate itself
> from Red Hat (nasdaq: 
> > RHAT -
> > news - people ), the leading Linux distributor, by
> offering better 
> > patent
> > protection.
> >
> > But Novell also is admitting it cannot compete on
> its own against Red 
> > Hat.
> > After two years of struggling, Novell holds only
> 20% market share of
> > commercial Linux shipments; Red Hat commands
> virtually all of the rest.
> > Although Linux itself is free, companies like Red
> Hat and Novell can 
> > make
> > money by distributing and supporting it.
> >
> > At yesterday's hastily called press conference in
> San Francisco, 
> > Microsoft
> > Chief Executive Steve Ballmer conceded that his
> customers want to use
> > Linux--a Windows rival that Microsoft has spent
> the past decade trying 
> > to
> > squash.
> >
> > Developed collaboratively by programmers from
> around the world, Linux 
> > has
> > become wildly popular in corporate data centers,
> powering companies 
> > like
> > Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ), Amazon
> (nasdaq: AMZN - news -
> > people ) and many large Wall Street firms. It is a
> variant of Unix, an
> > operating system developed in the 1970s by AT&T
> (nyse: T - news - 
> > people )
> > and considered more stable, though less
> user-friendly, than Windows.
> >
> > Ballmer said Microsoft's customers are demanding
> that his company make 
> > its
> > programs work more smoothly with Linux.
> >
> > But while the talk on stage was all about peace,
> love and 
> > interoperability,
> > Microsoft's maneuver also lets it divide the Linux
> market by driving a 
> > wedge
> > between the two biggest players. In fact, the
> Linux market is already
> > splintering into many different versions, a trend
> that helps Microsoft.
> >
> > In addition to Red Hat and Novell, other popular
> Linux distributions 
> > include
> > Ubuntu, Xandros and Linspire. Just yesterday, as
> Microsoft and Novell 
> > were
> > announcing their pact, the radical Free Software
> Foundation was 
> > releasing yet
> > another version of Linux, called gNewSense. The
> foundation is also 
> > working on
> > a new license for Linux, which threatens to create
> even more 
> > fragmentation.
> >
> > Microsoft's pact with Novell also cranks up the
> pressure on Red Hat. 
> > Last
> > week, that company came under a separate attack
> when database giant 
> > Oracle
> > (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ) said it would
> start distributing its 
> > own
> > version of Linux--a free clone of Red Hat's
> software. Oracle also 
> > intends to
> > offer support to Red Hat customers for less than
> half of what Red Hat
> > charges.
> >
> > Now, Red Hat must compete not only with Oracle but
> also with 
> > Microsoft, which
> > will be promoting Suse Linux and steering
> customers away from Red Hat.
> >
> > Nevertheless, Red Hat's publicity department
> cheerily proclaimed that 
> > the
> > Oracle and Microsoft announcements represent a
> terrific turn of 
> > events. "It's
> > fantastic news. Two of the main tech companies
> decided to get behind 
> > Linux
> > within six days. If that's not validation, what
> is?"
> >
> > Note to Red Hat: When companies start talking
> about Microsoft 
> > "validating"
> > their market, they're usually about to be
> validated out of existence.
> >
> > Same goes for ailing software makers that announce
> some triumphant 
> 
=== message truncated ===>
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