Microsoft and Novell Open Interoperability Lab

An anonymous reader writes to mention that the Microsoft and Novell Interoperability Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts opened today. The lab is supposed to allow both Novell and Microsoft developers to work together for better interoperability between SUSE and Windows Server. "Located in Cambridge, the 2,500-square-foot lab and workspace will be home to a combined team of the best and brightest Microsoft and Novell engineers focused on making Windows Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise work better together. The first priority for the lab team will be to ensure interoperability between Microsoft and Novell virtualization technologies. Additional work will include standards-based systems management, identity federation and compatibility of office document formats."

Comments

itsatrap?

[Anonymous Coward]

I predict that this will get tagged as "itsatrap"--Microsoft has a history of joining efforts only to undermine them later. (E.g. "embrace, extend, extinguish")

Having said that, Microsoft, like many gigantic corporations, has several "personalities" in the sense that different divisions may be operating on different guiding principles that don't necessarily mesh with each other. In this case, for instance, I'm willing to believe that the MS engineers joining this interoperability effort will genuinely do good work towards making MS products work with Linux in a smart and efficient way. So, I can see a lot of good coming out of this.

Yes, we should be wary of any attempt by MS higher-ups to subvert this process and use it to break interoperability (or to make Linux look "unfit for business" or whatever)... but to some extent I'm willing to give MS another chance here.

Re:itsatrap?

[Experiment 626]

Of course it's a trap. Imagine you were walking along and you saw a bear trap on the ground, with a trip wire beside it leading to a gas canister. A cage is suspended over it by a rope, and there's a sentry gun mounted nearby. You might think, "this is a trap", unless you were a Novell executive, in which case you would step into the the apparatus try to find ways to "interoperate" with it.

Re:itsatrap?

[SpaceLifeForm]

You failed to mention the money dangled over the trap.

This lab is the result of the Microsoft-Novell FUD agreement.

And at 2500 square feet, I.E., a 50x50 foot room,
the techs don't have a lot of room to interoperate.

It's a farce to appease the EU.

Awesome!

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

Now you can autospace like in Word5 or do pagebreak Wordstar style! OOXML coming to Linux!!

Peer or puppet?

[alext]

An obvious benchmark to track is the number of changes going into the Windows Server product for compatibility vs. those going into Suse Linux.

If Suse has to make all the running it will be pretty obvious who is wearing the trousers (as we say).

Re:Peer or puppet?

[projectmalamute]

I would assume the changes will mostly be on the Suse side. All of the information MS needed to interoperate with Linux has been openly available for years, if MS wanted to play nicely with Linux they already would.

Isn't it interesting...

[xednieht]

how tomorrow's lawsuits start?

Who is running this?

[Epeeist]

Looks like the ideal job for Miguel ;-)

Priorities

[RAMMS EIN]

``The first priority for the lab team will be to ensure interoperability between Microsoft and Novell virtualization technologies.''

That is definitely not the place I would start. First of all, I hardly think interoperability in virtualization is the most important, and secondly, as far as I know, we already _have_ interoperable virtualization.

Instead of virtualization, I would start with file formats and move to protocols from there.

Of course, neither of these would be issues if there were standards and both parties adhered to them.