08.22.08
Novell Chief Pressures Critical Blogger
n the face of it, Novell has not done enough by ‘gagging’ critics in advance [1, 2, 3]. Now that there’s some opposition out there, Novell tries to shoot down the message/messenger. Freedom of speech? Not quite.
Watch this Novell employees, Chief Technology Officer in fact, leaving a comment without disclosure. Dana criticises Novell, so Novell comes to knock his message down. Who knows just how many pseudonyms are used out there by Novell employees? It’s hard to tell. In the past, we also saw Novell’s PR Director, Bruce Lowry, pressuring Dana after he had criticised Novell in his blog. it’s a pattern and Microsoft does this too. Novell’s Lowry has quit the company since then, only to be replaced by Mr. “Peace of Mind” [with patent coupons]. █
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.