05.07.07
Dell Joins the Microvell Party, Article Cannot Help Mentioning Patents
The following headline is a bit of a shocker.
Dell Signs on With Microsoft, Novell
The pact between Microsoft and Novell is primarily aimed at the growing number of major companies and government agencies that rely on both Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft’s patent-protected Windows and Novell’s open-source Linux platform to run their computers.
To encourage more companies to choose Novell’s open-source platform, Microsoft has promised not to file patent-rights lawsuits over any of its technology that’s blended with Suse Linux.
The concession is meant to address concerns of corporate users who have been reluctant to use Linux because they feared Microsoft might retaliate with patent-infringement claims.
Surely, being a major development, there will be a lot to discuss later. Since this breaking news may seem pretty urgent, let us call this a placeholder. Watch this space. There are more details in a Reuters article.
How will this affect Canonical and Ubuntu, if at all? We shall soon find out. For the time being, here is just a video of Mark Shuttleworth talking about his historic deal with Dell.
Recent news:
Novell, Dell Still Talking Linux Preloads On PCs
Novell believes it can hit a pricing sweet spot with Linux on the enterprise desktop and remains in talks with top OEMs — including Dell — about preloading SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 on PC clients.
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.