06.16.07
Red Hat Still Not Interested in ‘Interoperability Tax’
Earlier today, Shane pointed out that Ubuntu is not about to fall victim to Microsoft’s pressure. I fact, this was just one among several clarifications that Mark Shuttleworth had made recently. At one point he even went further and accused Microsoft of ‘racketeering’, which is illegal. It is worth re-emphasising that the most popular (as in “widely used”) desktop distribution, just like that in the server space, refuses and will continue to refuse to sell out. A couple of days ago, Red Hat repeated its stance on this issue.
“We continue to believe that open source and the innovation it represents should not be subject to an unsubstantiated tax that lacks transparency,” she said in an e-mail.
This echoes the argument that Red Hat made quite some time ago. Open standards are the only way forward. Not even a ‘portfolio’ of sellouts can change this. It will only make those who stand stubborn more popular and attractive. I moved to Ubuntu two days ago.
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.