02.24.07
Novell Repeats GPL Claims; Ballmer’s Accusations Debunked
While the Free Software Foundation takes its time to ensure exclusion of Novell, its managers seem apathetic. The company has said this before (in South Africa) and it now repeats the same argument. It insists that the next version of the GPL will not leave it out in the cold. This latest statement comes from an executive in Asia.
Open source vendor Novell has asserted that there is no truth in speculations of it losing out on the General Public License (GPL) to sell Linux operating system software.
Also in the news watch, you might find this snippet from an InformationWeek article informative.
Samba project leader Jeremy Allison, who left Novell in protest over the Novell-Microsoft deal, insists no reverse engineering of Microsoft file formats or other infringements have occurred in his project. The file exchange is engineered at the network protocol level, he says, based on published Microsoft documents. “We haven’t used anybody else’s IP to develop Samba,” Allison asserts over lunch at his new employer, Google.
Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation (the merged Open Source Development Labs and Free Standards Group), calls Ballmer’s repeated allusions to intellectual property rights “scare tactics.”
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.
shane said,
February 24, 2007 at 9:03 am
One analyst also referred to Ballmer’s earlier statements as an "intimidation tactic". It’s just funny who it was…
Roy Schestowitz said,
February 24, 2007 at 10:11 am
General Manager of FUD Department.