01.23.07
Novell/Microsoft Meeting: Mini Summary
Amid the latest discussion at Groklaw, some interesting information is becoming public. To quote bits of interest:
1. Both Nat Friedman and Miguel de Icaza are reported to have visited Microsoft to say that the patent agreement as written isn’t acceptable, and Microsoft said itself publicly that a change was needed. Where is the rewrite? When might we expect it? What will the changes be?
[…]
3. For Novell: You promised the community that you would use your patent portfolio to protect Linux. Now you ally with this Microsoft statement, that the deal is “enabling both companies to recognize commercial value from their respective patent portfolios.” Why did you break that promise? Do you care that the majority of the FOSS community is opposed to software patents? How do you reconcile the clear intent of GPLv2 that no restrictions, such as a patent license, can be added to the GPL and what you signed?
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.
veridicus said,
January 23, 2007 at 5:31 pm
Miguel de Icaza has always stated that patents wouldn’t be an issue for Mono (open source implementation of Microsoft’s .NET). Yet now he’s negotiating for them. With Novell he’s now helping Microsoft keep developers locked into .NET with little ability to switch to an open system.
Roy Schestowitz said,
January 23, 2007 at 6:45 pm
I exchanged some words with de Icaza a couple of weeks ago. Have a look at:
http://boycottnovell.com/2007/01/08/novell-patent-global/
See the latter part on Mono and patents.