Microsoft Patent Deal Could Leave Novell Behind

robbyyy writes to mention a Computer Business Review Online article about commentary from Bruce Perens to Novell, about their recent deal with Microsoft. He argues that the company should quickly turn its back on the deal, because Novell risks being left behind by open source progress. From the article: "While Linux creator Linus Torvalds has previously stated that the Linux kernel will remain on the GPL v2 license, much of the code that makes up a complete Linux distribution is owned by the FSF, which intends to re-license all its code to GPL v3 as soon as it is completed in early 2007. 'In the face of these changes, Novell will probably be stuck with old versions of the software, under old licenses, with Novell sustaining the entire cost and burden of maintaining that software,' Perens wrote, adding that Novell faces a choice of sticking with Microsoft and being left behind, or turning its back on the patent deal."

Comments

of course

[crankshot999]

Microsoft is scared that if they are too close to novell fo too long, they'll catch it's free disease!

Revenge?

[MECC]

Maybe MS already thought about this, and this was just the sneakiest way to stick it to Novell - get them to purchase their own demise from an old enemy.

FSF owns what?

[tronicum]

[...] much of the code that makes up a complete Linux distribution is owned by the FSF, which intends to re-license all its code to GPL v3 as soon as it is completed in early 2007 [...]

WTF? I know its GNU/Linux...but it does not mean that FSF "owns" it. And I dont believe that the GPLv2 to GPLv3 transition will leed to a gap between GPLv2 and GPLv3 userlands.

But yes, Novell (and the SuSE distro they bought) will have to life with the stigma having a deal with MS.

Perens is a lame-ass mobster --and communist.

[Anonymous Coward]

He's gone from trying to turn "public domain shareware" into dirty communism to now throwing mob-like threats around about whose going to succeed and whose going to fail if they don't get in line with his communist bullshit.

Fuck Bruce Perens. Fuck Free Software Foundation.

Oh, and my family has fought in every fucking war in the past 100 years so Americans like Bruce Perens and Richard Stallman can stand up and make dicks of themselves. That's my "free as in beer" speech for the day.

Re:Scam. It's a scam.

[Anonymous Coward]

What great improvements to gcc/g++, glibc and the unix user space tools have been done in the last 5 years? Besides, it's not as if compilers and little unix utilities are exactly rocket science.

I think replacing the GNU stuff with something else would be a great idea. Then RMS could stop bitching about GNU not being part of the Linux name.

It's all about executive compensation

[walterbyrd]

Novell is basically Ximian now. Top execs at novl just want $$, they don't give a crap about the company.

You can be sure that a lot of msft $$ will find it's way into the pockets of top novl execs. That is all the execs care about, the execs are not on some idealistic crusade.

A very delicate and sensitive issue

[stock]

I got a permban on my local #linux irc channel for commenting about the Novell/SuSE deal
and the remarks from the Samba Developers :

http://wiki.linux-irc.net/wiki/Stock_Speaks

Here's how i got kicked :

http://crashrecovery.org/irc-bulle.html

Robert