08.26.07
Gartner’s George Weiss: A Lot of SUSE Developers Left Because of Microsoft/Novell Deal
It wasn’t long ago that we discussed the purpose of the XenSource acquisition. Microsoft seems to be using Citrix as a proxy that pulls the rug from under the feet of Linux. In the following new article, the new owner (Citrix) is said to have responsibilities for open source. It appears likely to neglect these responsibilities. More curious, however, was the following bit.
But Weiss points to last November’s Novell-Microsoft deal, in which the two agreed to collaborate on the development of some technologies, including trying to help Windows work with Novell’s open-source Suse.
“When this happened, there was a lot of disillusionment in the market and a lot of Suse developers left on the principle that they wouldn’t work for a company that has these agreements with proprietary vendors,” Weiss says.
We happen to have spotted a lot of departures ourselves, but they don’t get much media attention unless the person leaving is famous or very vocal.
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.