Here is one of the latest clues...
First Fruit of Novell’s (Known) Microsoft Patent License?
,----[ Quote ]
| So, will we be able to see these Virtual Machine Drivers for Windows on Xen
| available to other distributions and the overall community without veiled
| patent threats? Or, is it virtualization and interoperability only for those
| willing to pay a patent tax? Early reports indicated that the MS drivers will
| be under a proprietary license.
`----
http://boycottnovell.com/2007/06/19/first-fruit-of-novells-known-microsoft-patent-license/
In other words, Microsoft will play with you as long as you pay them money.
Bad, bad Novel.
Live from the Mass. Technology Leadership Council Open Source Summit
,----[ Quote ]
| The most timely exchanges, not surprisingly, involved the
| questions, comments and answers focusing on the string of
| agreements with Novell, and more recently with other distro
| vendors (most recently Linspire), in the context of the
| "235 patent" Fortune article. Not surprisingly, Microsoft
| and Novell painted their arrangement as being "for the
| benefit of their customers," and as beneficial to the
| growth of Linux. Novell's Justin Steinman, Novell's
| long-suffering corporate spokesman for the Microsoft
| deal, pointed to the huge growth of it's Linux business
| since the deal was inked, but whether this is incremental
| Linux market growth or simply sales that have shifted from
| other distro vendors is, of course, a different question.
| I felt constrained to point out that for 20 years Unix, and
| then Linux customers, hadn't felt the need to be protected
| by such agreements. It's curious why customers should now
| suddenly need assurance.
`----
http://www.consortiuminfo.org/standardsblog/article.php?story=20070619065710401
|
|
