12.20.07
Red Hat FUD Was Off Target
Several days ago we happened to mention some Red Hat FUD. Well, Red Hat’s results are solid, unlike Novell’s. Here is the latest:
Red Hat Inc. tapped former Delta Air Lines Inc. executive James Whitehurst to lead the company into a new phase of growth, as the open source provider said Thursday its third-quarter earnings rose 12 percent.
Yes, the company gets a new CEO as well.
In a surprise move, Red Hat said Thursday that Matthew Szulik will step down as president and chief executive on January 1, to be replaced by James Whitehurst, Delta Airlines’ former chief operating officer.
And an obligatory comment consider:
Red Hat is for those that know better !. If anyone listens to the BS FUD about Red Hat, they are going to be pulled by the chain around their neck about everything !. Most of the BS about Red Hat, is because Novell needs business, come on with layoffs and all to max profits ?. Imo if not for Red Hat Novell would be lost for GPL code as they are lost on how to be a successful distro. The thinking by some about - Let’s make a Deal with Microsoft, that btw was Novell’s big idea to kill Red Hat and have other distros begging Microsoft, while those that would have signed a deal being limited under Microsoft’s first deal with Novell. This does not work with a community as the community around Linux as Novell is in pain over having that knowledge now and grab for RH gold to live.
Remember that Novell’s deal with Microsoft is an anti-Red Hat deal. It always has been. The same goes goes for other companies that went the wrong way). █
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.
JJS said,
December 21, 2007 at 7:07 pm
To avoid having to add RedHat to your wall of shame, why don’t you post an open letter to Mr. Whitehurst, RedHat’s new CEO, asking for a firm commitment to continue RedHat’s policy of interoperability _only_ thru open standards, _not_ backroom deals with M$.
Later . . . Jim
Roy Schestowitz said,
December 21, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Very good point. Shane registered
boycottredhat.comalmost a year ago, calling it a “just in case”. I was against that, but Shane had already done this by the time I was informed.When I first heard about this new appointment, I worried that I had heard about Boeing becoming one among the costumers of Novell-Microsoft ‘interoperability’ (I can’t quite find a reference, so I’m probably wrong here).
About Delta, well… I know very little, but whenever you talk about those monopolistic giants, such as Wal-Mart and SAP, there’s a certain mentality that comes dripping from their management. For instance, the Wal-Mart-Microsoft executive ties were mentioned at the time of their deal. The PRs contained some FUDdy appendages that propagated onto the press. We covered this here.
Matthew Szulik has always insisted that only standards are the way to go. Mark Shuttleworth, on the other hand, concentrated on the effect of Microsoft’s threats (he called them “racketeering”), but he put less emphasis on the standards element. In fact, he said he’d love to do a deal with Microsoft, but not under these conditions (patents). That appeared as an interview in the South African press. Later on, Shuttleworth urged his country to adopt open standards and by all means avoid OOXML, so I think Shuttleworth truly understands the situation, overall.
I wonder how Delta — and James Whitehurst in particular — relate to Microsoft and Novell. Some Web searches might bring something up, but that would be time consuming.