02.25.08
Corel, Like Novell, is Microsoft’s Friend, Not Its Competitor
If you can’t beat them, devour them (new cartoon)
A reader advised us to summarise what we know about Corel and its past affairs with Microsoft, as well as their present state of affairs. We wrote about this many times before, so here is a summary of posts of interest.
References prevent unneeded repetition, so here are some selected past items along with their excerpts (unchanged since the time of writing, so mind the dates).
How Microsoft Attacked Corel/WP
- Novell Should Learn from Microsoft's Assault on WordPerfect :: A look back at Microsoft’s attack on Novell, Corel, and WordPerfect
- Bill Gates and His 'Attack Groups' :: Sequel to a previous post — another look at anti-WordPerfect tactics
- When Companies Eat Microsoft Bait, It Means Trouble :: A look back at some similar deals where Microsoft paid its rivals to fall into traps
- History's Lesson: Microsoft May Use Novell to Kill OpenOffice, ODF :: This one is a shocker! A look back at Corel suggests that history will quite possibly repeat itself, maybe even ‘punishing’ GNU/Linux users.
How Microsoft Uses Corel for OOXML
- Dissecting Microsoft's OOXML/ODF Strategy :: A look back at some of the methods Microsoft has used to combat truly open standards
- Mindmap: Microsoft Deals and Partnership as Proxies in a Software Battle :: Diagram that illustrates how Microsoft uses many deals and partnerships to fight creeping threats
- Corel Serves Microsoft, But Does it Even Better :: Corel supports OOXML, but it also shows that Microsoft lied about the ability to support ODF ’simultaneously’
- Xandros Joins Hands with the Anti-ODF Companies That Money Could Buy :: Xandros shows us what the deals are intended to achieve
- More Musings on the Xandrosoft Deal :: A somewhat staccato listing of some of the thoughts bouncing around my head today RE: Xandrosoft. Is an IP License Required to Implement OOXML?
- Is the Open Document Format (ODF) Now Dead? :: You want interoperability? Sure, but on our terms…
There is a pile of postings that cover present events rather than a historical perspective. History is not a priority here. You can find a more complete list of posts that mention Corel here (there are about 60 in total at the time of writing, listed reverse-chronologically):
It’s clear that Microsoft transformed Corel into a friend, having signed a deal several years ago. From abuser to a lover, just like Novell. █
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.