08.16.08
SCO Also Used to Contibute to Linux, Just Like Novell
Good deeds rarely last forever
It is typical when sleeping on the driver’s wheel not to wake up until it’s too late. We keep hearing about how nice Novell has been to GNU/Linux, but people are not foolish. Over time, they come realise just how selfish Novell is. There’s growing skepticism and dissent. If you don’t believe it, watch how an increasing number of people visit this Web site as the company makes outrageous statements about its growing relationship with Microsoft while knowingly excluding other GNU/Linux distributions from virtualisation, for instance.
The interest in the impact of Novell aside, Groklaw has this great new article. It shows how SCO was all about Linux just before it turned nasty.
Here are some more screenshots for you, showing the real Santa Cruz Operation relationship with Linux before the modern day SCO Group began suing the world and its dog. Back in the late 1990s, Santa Cruz had what it called its “Linux strategy”. It included both money and support to help Linux succeed.
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It’s clear Santa Cruz was trying to endear itself to the Linux and Open Source communities. The press release references its “ongoing strategy to support the Linux and Open Source movements”.
It would seem to naive back them to assume SCO can legally attack Linux. What for? On what basis? What if Microsoft came over and offered a large wad of cash, which is possible? What if Microsoft was to acquire a company like SCO or Novell, or simply change the management and — along with it — the agenda? Remember Corel and GNU/Linux. Always remember Corel and what a deal with Microsoft did to it.
Most of Novell’s apologists might think that people will forget about the Novell/Microsoft deal and cease to care. But au contraire — the severe consequences of that deal are only beginning to surface. OOXML, Mono and virtualisation are just a few pieces of a much large picture. To Microsoft, Novell is a tool. But Novell is not a victim and this is no gunshot wedding. It could be a marriage of convenience, even a collusion.
To use the words of Pamela Jones, Microsoft will be the next SCO Group. Could Novell then be part of Microsoft? █
“Our partnership with Microsoft continues to expand.”
–Ron Hovsepian, Novell CEO
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.