Posted on 11/02/2006 1:43:00 PM PST by Salo
Microsoft Is Set to Give Linux a Boost Through Partnership With Novell
By ROBERT A. GUTH
November 2, 2006 2:59 p.m.
Microsoft Corp. is entering into an unusual partnership with Novell Inc. that gives a boost to the Linux operating system, a rival to the software giant's Windows software, according to people familiar with the companies.
Under the pact, which isn't final, Microsoft will offer sales support of Suse Linux, a version of the operating system sold by Novell. The two companies have also agreed to develop technologies to make it easier for users to run both Suse Linux and Microsoft's Windows on their computers. The two companies are expected to announce details of their plan today at a press conference in San Francisco.
In addition, Microsoft won't assert rights over patents over software technology that may be incorporated into Suse Linux, the people said. Businesses that use Linux have long worried that Microsoft would one day file patent infringement suits against sellers of the rival software.
The pact marks an unusual level of cooperation between two longtime rivals. Microsoft has been battling all versions of Linux, but has faced pressure to assure that customers can run both Windows and Linux without problems.
By forging a peace pact with one seller of Linux, Microsoft could raise pressure on Red Hat Inc., the leading provider of Linux, and a Novell rival. Last week, Oracle Corp. announced that it would start selling its own support for Red Hat's version of Linux....
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
GirlBird's head is going to asplode pings.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
Man, this can get ugly.
IB4GE...
Suse isn't its own company; it's owned by Novell. And IIRC, Suse is one of their flagship products.
Rather, I see MS trying to rip a few pages out of Novell's playbook to use in Windows--and perhaps vice-versa.
MS is way behind the times. In fact in order for them to do this they will be treading on a whole lotta Copyrights. It's called Lindows.. I.E. Win4Lin and also Wine. MS must be feeling the heat.
Novell's stock went up almost a point today. I bought some back in the early 90s for $8 a share, and it went all the way up to the 40s. My wife said I should sell it but I held, only to watch it drop steadily.
I predicted this years ago. The only sensible future for winders has to be something based on the unix model. Cannibalizing a flavor of linux and calling it "Winders FW" (Finally Works,) would be a smart business move.
Good Lord.
This is a train wreck waiting to happen....
NO NO NO!! Leave my suse alone. 10.1 is runnin' like a champ (and is purty with xgl and compiz)
Lindows was the old name for the Linux distro called Linspire.
Wine does run some Windows software, but certain things, like Photoshop are unusable. Photoshop always crashes under wine when right-clicking.
Microsoft's collaboration with Novell looks like another version of their "embrace, expand, destroy" strategy. If they were smart, they would take Apple's lead and develop an operating system from BSD.
ROFL!
You checked out the "Gimpshop" package? Makes gimp menus mimic PS.
Microsoft: Soon to be bringing virii and malware to Linux.
Yeah, I'm running that too. Although I have see a few bugs with windowmaker. Other than that everything is smokin'!
MS has a history of absorbing or simply stealing the IP of companies they partner with.
Sounds more like a partnership to help Novell kill Linux.
I use Linux all the time. Gimp is fine for some image editing -- I prefer it for creating web images, but the design doesn't lend itself to editing large files, it also lacks the advanced Photoshop stuff and doesn't feature any exif editing. I shoot a lot of images that have to be placed into a database that uses the exif data for searching. It is either Windows or Mac because there is nothing in Linux that matches Photoshop for advanced photo editing or Photomechanic for rapid exif data editing.
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