11.19.07
Quick Mention: GNU Affero GPLv3 Released
You may wish to know the the last variant of the GPLv3 has just been released.
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) today published the GNU Affero General Public License version 3 (GNU AGPLv3). This is a new license; it is based on version 3 of the GNU General Public License (GNU GPLv3), but has an additional term to allow users who interact with the licensed software over a network to receive the source for that program. By publishing this license, the FSF aims to foster user and development communities around network-oriented free software.
This comes just days after Sun Microsystems showed its first signs of GPLv3 apporval and acceptance. █
Older articles:
Microsoft is extremely keen to avoid “legal debate” over whether its recent partnerships with Linux firms such as Novell, Xandros, and Linspire, mean Redmond must assume any of the new licenses’ legal obligations.
Microsoft’s covenant not to sue users of Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise will be extended to all General Public License v3 users as soon as Novell includes GPLv3 code within its Linux distribution, according to the Free Software Foundation.




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.