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

[David Holden]

On Tuesday 08 May 2007, Richard Smedley wrote:
> > > "Microsoft and Novell said Dell has agreed to buy Suse Linux
> > > Enterprise Server certificates from Microsoft..."
> > >
> > > http://business.bostonherald.com/technologyNews/view.bg?articleid=19901
> > >4
> >
> >  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

Agreed. Ideally this will get more people running Linux and OS software and 
then GPL 3 will render the Novell/MS agreement void anyway.

 Dave.


-- 
Dr. David Holden.

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