02.06.08
The Mandriva and Turbolinux Deal Revisited
Result from inquiries
In the middle of January, Mandriva and Turbolinux announced that they would collaborate. The negotiations between the two companies carried on for some time and communication was apparently hindered by the fact that Turbolinux sold out (to Microsoft) just a few months ago.
The two companies finally reached an arrangement that is claimed to have resolved the Microsoft issue. In other words, Mandriva should not be affected by Turbolinux’s deal with Microsoft. There were a few who begged to differ or had some doubts though.
“Mandriva is very certain that there are no issues.”Our thoughts and writings in the past were based on conversations in forums like Groklaw and a response from Mandriva’s community leader. An interview that LinuxToday had with Mandriva’s CEO was another.
Brian from LinuxToday, as well as Pamela Jones from Groklaw, challenged and addressed the fact that Turbolinux gains visibility of Microsoft source code. Pamela must be thinking about SCO-like allegations. Again, as you are aware, Turbolinux signed a patent deal with Microsoft and it now gets access to Microsoft’s so-called IP (not just a case of software patents in this case because there are copyrights also).
People out there are divided when it comes to interpretation of the future effect on Mandriva. I personally do not believe there is any trouble associated with the Mandriva deal, but Pamela Jones and Brian from LinuxToday remain a little suspicious. Meanwhile, this question disappeared into the darkness (it’s old news), but definite answers are not quite out there. Mandriva is very certain that there are no issues. Microsoft’s take on this would be interesting (watch the LinuxToday interview). █
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.