Novell Vice Chairman on Ximian, SCO

dotnothing writes "microsoft-watch.com has an interview with Chris Stone, who is the Vice Chairman of Novell. Stone says that Novell will be introducing a Linux distribution with Novell products and the Ximian desktop, but that they are not out to compete with Microsoft. He also expressed some gratitude to Red Hat for countersuing SCO."

Comments

You Mean ...

[FreeUser]

If anyone is "ceding authority" it is you ... by letting fear of Microsoft dictate what you think people should and should not build.

You mean, like the way a motorist cedes authority to a precipice they drive along, by chosing not driving over the edge?

Microsoft has a history of bullying tactics and abuse of their monopoly to shut down competitors, even small upstarts who pose no real immediate threat. They have a history of moving development targets and changing standards with little or no warning (and at great cost to their customers) to keep their competition off-balance. They have intimated an intention to use copyright and patent law to bury free software. Microsoft has a history of discriminatory licensing targetted specifically at the GPL, and vitrolic rhetoric accusing free software developers of being 'unamerican' (a strong accusation in American culture and politics).

And you suggest it is unreasonable to look at these facts, observe that Microsoft unilaterally controls this standard, that Microsoft has publicly stated it intends to destroy free software, and that it is the one who points this out that is somehow 'ceding authority', rather than those who wish to promote a unilateral Microsoft standard into a fundamental standard inherent in the infrastructure of future network based free software projects?

One does not 'cede authority' by recognizing a risk and chosing to avoid it. One does 'cede authority' when one places the standard of one's basic infrastructure into the hands of another. For free software projects to build upon a standard controlled unilaterally by their staunchest opponent (philosophically, ethically, politically, and economically), and incorporate said standard at a fundamental level of their infrastructure, is most definitely to cede authority to that opponent.

Indeed, much like driving off a cliff ("see, I'm not ceding authority by letting my fear of the precipice influence me!"), doing so is not only foolish, it is downright suicidal.

Your doublespeak skills are quite formidable, but fortunately for most of us, unconvincing.