Red Hat CEO on Microsoft-Novell Deal

VE3OGG writes "The Seattle PI is running an interesting blurb from the Red Hat CEO on the current Novell-Microsoft deal that has been so lately lamented. According to Red Hat CEO Matthew Szulik, the deal is 'old news.' 'Those were existing accounts and there is at least one of them that I can speak definitely that is also a Red Hat account,' Szulik said. 'So those were older engagements and we were not involved in competitive situations with those two or three years ago when they became Novell accounts.' The common client that Szulik speaks of would likely be Credit Suisse. The story also makes mention that while Deutsche Bank's chief technology officer, Clemens Jochum, praised the deal, the firm has been an early investor in SUSE from the beginning."

Comments

Novell... who?

[NewToNix]

Didn't they used to be a Linux company?

Re:Novell... who?

[10scjed]

They still are, according to Stafford Masie at the CITI forum. As you can see from the quote, Masie is also adept at inspiring confidence in Novell's closed-source proprietary products:

"...Y'know, we're a Linux company, we do identity management, but we're a Linux company. Identity management, there's so much happening there to open source alot of the APIs, which we've already done, the only thing we haven't open-sourced in the identity world is kinda our directory, and I can tell you what, we probably won't, because again - the same reason alot of proprietary vendors wont take their big software and unwrap it, like I've always said- if you unwrap this baby its ugly, people will run away, ok, there's certain proprietary software that you never want anyone to look at..."

Re:It's too late to close the barn door

[pembo13]

Well in all fairness, some people went to Linux purely on its tech. strong points. I for sure may have never discovered Linux were it not for the extreme suckness of Windows which drove me to look for something better.

Re:It's too late to close the barn door

[eMbry00s]

No, I do believe it was to get far away from expensive as fuck Unixes. Microsoft's take on those wasn't very successful.

Re:It's too late to close the barn door

[Cyno]

Long, deep memories, like elephants? What are you smoking? Don't know about you, but my memory is like a human's who has been psychologically traumatized by their government and corporations for 5 years, and spent a good deal of that time stoned.

I'm a Linux zealot, and I try not to forget, but forgiving is easy. All you have to do is see the light, learn how to coexist, etc. I forgive Sun. GNU software can replace the old commercial way of doing things, but it doesn't have to.

I love feeling the power in simple things like Intellectual Property Rights and Free Speech and these Copyleft Licenses.

This supposed enemy of Free Software is capitalism and it will be more than happy to adopt Free Software when it becomes more profitable than the alternatives. Microsoft knows this. That's why they're shakin in their booties. The only hope they have is to prolong the inevitable.

Deutsche Bank also is a big believer in "IP"

[10scjed]

Perhaps they have an interest in validating the deal?

Deutsche Bank fund bets on patents as asset class

Boycott Novell.

Re:It's too late to close the barn door

[theshowmecanuck]

Szulik wasn't saying everything is OK now, he was just stating a set of facts. This story doesn't really have to do with the original Novell-Microsoft agreement story. It was about Szulik saying the news about "Microsoft's announcement of three joint customers with Novell this week" is really non-news.

Misleading headline and summary

[Schraegstrichpunkt]

RTFA. The Red Hat CEO isn't commenting on the Microsoft-Novell deal. He's commenting on the "three joint customers" that are apparently covered by the Microsoft-Novell deal. Novell is still fully to blame for their own actions.

Re:Misleading headline and summary

[Kjella]

RTFA.

Why?
The submitter didn't read it.
The editor didn't read it.
Those commenting didn't read it (except you).
Somehow, articles don't seem that essential to the process.

Re:Misleading headline and summary

[Schraegstrichpunkt]

My comment was directed at the submitter. The editors and people commenting never read the articles, so it would be futile to suddenly expect that to change.

Re:It's too late to close the barn door

[stebbo]

I was an OS/2 user before I was a Linux user. Make of that what you will :-)

I like Red Hat's attitude

[MikeRT]

They're winners, not losers like Netscape and to a lesser extent, Sun. They don't go running to big mama regulator to help them out from the mean old Microsoft bully. Instead they shrug stuff like this off and fight harder. That's why I expect them to be around in the next decade as a strong contender. They understand the rules of the marketplace, one of which is that it's easier to win if you focus on building a product rather than trying to sell a sob story to regulators about the unfairness of having to compete against bigger companies using their influence to attack you.

been there, done that

[Anonymous Coward]

"I once preached peaceful coexistence with Windows. You may laugh at my expense - I deserve it." Jean-Louis Gassée, CEO Be Ince.

The 1990's called and want their naivite back. Attempts at "peaceful co-existance" with MS is for the gullible. The market place is littered with the husks of those chumps dumb enough to try. A free market is what MS fears most.

Free Software, Open Source Software, and closed source software can all co-exist, with the exception of MS. The basic foundation of MS business model, that of leveraging monopolies not making software, is diametrically opposed.

Re:It's too late to close the barn door

[skeeterbug]

i'm wondering if your post was modded "interesting" due to your confusion. msft didn't try and make friends with linux, they claimed ownership. let me draw an analogy... big jim makes friends with your girlfriend. no problem. this ISN'T what msft did. big jim declares OWNERSHIP over your girlfriend and says you must contact him and pay him in order to talk to her. this *IS* what msft did. okay, i've lost 3/4 of slashdot b/c i mentioned "girlfriend," but the other 1/4 get the idea. msft has claimed ownership over parts of linux such that, if their claim is true, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE TO PAY MICROSOFT FOR EVERY LINUX INSTALL IN THE WORLD. excuse me, but i think the proper response to this claim isn't "can't we all get along?" rather, i think it is time to build up the linux fortress, gentleman, linux is under a full scale assault. yes, the time frame is extended due to the nature of the battle, but msft wants 1. linux F*ING KILLED or they want to get paid for EVERY SINGLE LINUX INSTALLATION IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! nothing else is acceptabel to these people. think about it.

Re:It's too late to close the barn door

[Cyno]

Its always time to build Linux, but not into a fortress, into a Free Marketplace. No point waiting for Microsoft to come around to our way of thinking. We can do it with or without them. I am not interested in making Linux work with Windows anymore. I'm interested in making Linux work well with itself and my hardware.

If Microsoft were more open minded about cooperation then the efforts to make Linux and Windows interoperable over the years would have been a huge success. But obviously, they are not. Who is the only one to blame for this mess here? Microsoft.

I mean, just look at what interoperability means to Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/execmail/2005/02-0 3interoperability.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/interop/default.mspx

"Making software interoperable by design", according to Microsoft they will be designing new software the is capable of interoperating with the alternatives because it uses OpenXML(tm).

However, the community has already built OpenOffice (a complete office suite, designed to be interoperable with Microsoft's Office document formats, OpenXML not necessary). Any help from Microsoft here? Nope. None. And take a look at Mono and Samba and all the IP conflicts Microsoft gives them. And now Microsoft threatens to sue anyone who doesn't sign their interoperability deal. Brilliant! That's a good way to make new friends, NOT!

The ONLY weapon Microsoft has to assault Linux is their patent portfolio. They would have to be willing to launch a full scale nuclear assault, and I know the amount of PR fallout from such an attack would destroy them.

So, the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, i.e. propoganda.

Deutsche bank, that name sounds familiar

[bl8n8r]

Q: And where have we heard that name before?
A: http://www.google.com/search?as_q=sco+Deutsche+Ban k

--
Ron we smell ponies: http://www.techp.org/