01.04.07
Novell Talks Red Hat, Still Sidles With Microsoft
Competition is a funny thing when one’s friend becomes a foe and one’s sworn enemy suddenly becomes a friend. It appears as though Novell’s rivals these days are only Linux distributers. Having taken off all comparisons with Microsoft Windows from its Web site [1, 2], Novell has moved on to speaking about the weaknesses of GNU/Linux that’s not developed under Microsoft’s iron fist, so to speak. I have just caught the following article from Salt Lake Tribune:
Novell spokesman Kevan Barney said the downfall of Red Hat’s Fedora Legacy Project only strengthens Novell’s commitment to its own partnership with open-source, or free, software developers worldwide.
“What has happened with Fedora does not affect what we are doing with our Open Systems Project,” he said. “We have over 30,000 registered members. The project is doing quite well.”
Novell offers its own Suse Linux product line, but it differs from a companion, free-to-download Open Suse version only in the level of technical support and the stability required for each generation of retail editions.
There is not much to be seen here, but it seems evident that Novell is after Red Hat’s customers while it remains obedient to (READ: scared of) and ‘plays nice’ with Microsoft. It is a case of Linux fighting Linux, which is precisely what Microsoft sought to achieve when striking this deal, also paying a lump of money for easier persuasion. The divisive nature of the deal—that which separates customers from the developers community—is another harmful side-effect. It ought to bother you that only months ago, Ron Hovespian complained about Microsoft’s business practices. Here is what he said before befriending Microsoft:
“Microsoft Corp is using scare tactics to exert pressure on PC vendors not to explore the potential of desktop Linux, according to Novell Inc president and COO, Ron Hovsepian”
In other news, about Novell:
- InfoWorld Honors SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop With 2007 Technology of the Year Award
- Review: openSUSE 10.2 Earns A Seat At The Head Of The Table
Just a bit of credit where it’s due. We consider this site to be impartial, not rebellious. We aspire to discover stories and facts that escape the attention or interest of mainstream press. If you can offer any contributions or stories we have missed, be sure to contact us. We would like our loyal readers to drive the site, rather than let it be controlled by editors. Let us make use of the wisdom of the crowds.
Addendum: here’s another new article which fits the theme of this post. It’s titled “Novell CTO Touts ‘Mixed Source’ Strategy, Takes Jab At Red Hat“.
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
wyretrip said,
January 5, 2007 at 1:24 pm
“We consider this site to be impartial, not rebellious.”
May want to reconsider the name of your site then. =/
Roy Schestowitz said,
January 5, 2007 at 1:41 pm
We already have. See the latest entry, which is only one among a series that explains why the domain name misrepresent the nature of the site.
http://boycottnovell.com/2007/01/05/its-the-patent-covenant/
Trust me, in retrospect, what came to become the textual identity of the site is not the brightest of ideas. Domain registration was rather quick and impulsive. Whether or not this choice will haunt us in the future is yet to be seen.
shane said,
January 5, 2007 at 2:29 pm
I don’t regret it, I am Boycotting Novell
So long as this patent covenant deal is in place, I will not support or endorse Novell’s actions in any way, and will continue to campaign against them and their partner Microsoft.
We are not alone, Roy and I, look to Bruce Perens’ petition and the actions that Eben Moglen and the FSF are taking to ensure that the exploit Novell has wrought on the GPL is patched in the next release, in addition to Jeremy Allison’s public stance against the deal.
As Bruce said in the petition ( http://techp.org/petition/show/1 )
Boycott Novell