[SC.LUG] Fwd: There are some press quotes you just never expect to see....

[Richard Smedley]

> > "Microsoft and Novell said Dell has agreed to buy Suse Linux
> > Enterprise Server certificates from Microsoft..."
> >
> > http://business.bostonherald.com/technologyNews/view.bg?articleid=199014

>  Is this good or bad?

That's a very good question.

The whole patent FUD behind the MS-Novell deal is subtly and
insidiously bad in some ways /but/ nothing is ever that simple.
Even MS's approach nowadays, coming from an hydra-like organisation,
contains strong elements of support for Free Software (Iron Python,
new licences, tentative x-platform work) to go with all of the
damage (patents, silverlight, BBC hijacking, MSOOX).

For GNU/Linux as a platform it may increase corporate uptake in
some conservative areas - at the expense of it being tied to MS/
Novell patent-fearing lock-in.
For Free Software as a whole I don't think it makes much difference
either way. While pressure continues for EU adoption of software
patents, there are small signs that the US has had enough of them.
As with DrM, the future remains interesting ;-/

 - Richard


-- 
Richard Smedley,                                         rs at m6-it.org
Technical Director,                                     www.M6-IT.org
M6-IT CIC                                        +44 (0)779 456 07 14

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