02.03.07
Dramatic Licence in the Press, Courtesy of Novell
Novell has supplied ‘ammunition’ to those seeking to demonise and criticise the Linux/Free software community. If you thought that Reuters had chosen sensationalist headlines, then have a look at this new article from InformationWeek. It is titled “Microsoft-Novell Deal: Nightmare In Linux Land”.
When Microsoft and Novell announced their Linux agreement last November, it knocked the open source community for a loop, and some hit back hard. “The Microsoft message here is clear. ‘I can pick and choose among the players and bribe whomever I want,’” says Francois Banchilhon, CEO of Mandriva, a Linux marketer.
The journalists’ exaggerations are, needless to mention, damaging to the reputation of Linux. There is no “nightmare in Linux land” and Novell is not “banned from selling Linux”, either.
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.
Draconishinobi said,
February 3, 2007 at 9:36 pm
That’s just the way the world works … I see no difference between this and the rest of the news (except maybe some independent media) … it’s all propaganda to me, no matter the topic. And the saddest part of all is that people actually believe it.
IanSVT said,
February 3, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Just because radical FSF advocates and irresponsible “journalists” spark this kind of controversy, doesn’t mean Novell is providing the ammunition. You can’t blame Novell for everything that goes awry in the Linux world. Sometimes the biggest enemy of Linux are the users themselves. Just look at slashdot or groklaw, you’ll see plenty of uninformed and off the wall comments from people who think the world is fine with running Samba, postfix, and shell scripts in their server rooms.
I’m still waiting for the detriment to Linux after the MS/Novell deal by the two principal parties involved. The only detriment is coming from these people who are actually helping Microsoft by making the FSF/Linux landscape one of uncertain stability. Not even Microsoft’s “get the facts” is managing to damage Linux like “news” and comments that have come out today.
Roy Schestowitz said,
February 4, 2007 at 3:44 am
There was also a dilemma when this site was in its infancy (ask Shane for his own take though, as this opinion is just mine). On the one hand, it helps the Linux community, but on the other hand it encourages or at least leads to friction. There’s a divisive side-effect, which would bring long-term benefits. By no means should Microsoft be allowed to set a foot inside the Linux world. Micrososft shouldn’t sell Linux, support it, give their ‘endoresement’, or even set limits. They shouldn’t forcefeed their so-called ’standards’ and change perceptions about IP, either.
To illustrate my point, have a look:
“Microsoft seems to have hijacked Linux Asia”
http://www.ciol.com/content/developer/Linux/2007/107020104.asp
“As far as making the source code available, we at MS strongly feel that there is a need to protect intellectual property (IP) as it is the economic incentive to create better solutions. However, we do not refute the other school of thought, which is why we have created platforms like Codeplex. Microsoft is a part of all standard bodies, and we actively participate in creating open standards for our customers.”
Here they are invading the Linux world and trying to take control. It’s a Trojan horse.