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Turbolinux Is Latest To Sign Microsoft Pact
mytrip sends word that Turbolinux has followed Novell, Linspire, and Xandros in signing a patent and technology agreement with Microsoft. Microsoft pledged not to sue Turbolinux's users for patent infringement. Turbolinux, headquartered in Japan, sells Linux systems mostly in emerging markets such as China and India. The Betanews story speculates on some of the technology benefits Turbolinux might get out of the deal.
Could it be? Could Turbolinux users be getting transparent title bars on their windows? That would be FANTASTIC!
A slashdotter who didn't build his own computer is like a Jedi who didn't build his own lightsaber.
The article refers to a cross-licensing agreement with intent to use some technology - it doesn't say anything about not suing customers, although presumably that could be part of the deal and not mentioned here.
"I object to doing things that computers can do." -- Olin Shivers, lispers.org
Yeah but did they get money out of the deal ? Back then, Novell got Microsoft to invest some money in the development of cross-compatibility software (in short : Novell payed some cash to MS for patents, and MS in return gave huge wads of cash to Novell for development)
Is this the case tody with TurboLinux ?
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
And here I was thinking that Turbolinux died years ago. Last time I remember hearing about them is back in '99 or '00.
Maybe they just died on the inside.
There's a Queen song that comes to mind...
"It's not whether you win or lose, it's how drunk you get." -- H. J. Simpson
On Linux distro's that I'll never install or support.
yup, yet another insignificant distro took some bucks to be the latest FUD. Well done M$FT, I'm so scared that I'm formatting my drive right now to reinstall XP. /sarcasm
Wake me up if a real distro like Red Hat Debian or Slackware SELL OUT, at which point I will simply start using OpenBSD on my desktop in addition to my server. This is FUD FUD FUD FUD FUD!
So, other than Novell, many of the "tiny" Linuxes (those with the least user base), seem interested in trying to attach their wagons to the Microsoft train.
I, for one, am not all THAT surprised, but neither all that concerned, either. The message from the other LARGER Linux distros like Redhat, Canonical, and Mandriva, have all have a clear message: ***NO*** If one of those were to fall for it, I would be VERY concerned.
Show us the infringing patents, Microsoft.... we are still waiting...
Don't companies all of the time say hey I won't sue you if you don't sue me? If Microsoft has so much on Linux as far as software patents go then I would think they would sue instead signing non aggression agreements. I think Microsoft might have some things that Linux could say they hold a patent on. Maybe this is a good thing for Linux as they don't have to worry about going to court for 10 years with their clients and developers wondering what will happen if Microsoft gets the upper hand. Even if it was something developers could change easily it's nice to know you won't be going to court because something is similar enough to a patent Microsoft owns. I can see why they would go and do this, though I do think it's almost like signing a deal with the devil. I hope distros like Red Hat and such don't do it personally.
I don't know much about it so if I'm wrong could you please explain to me how this is bad?
[Capo di tutti capi, Steve Ballmer] - "That's a nice set of users ya got there. Shame if anything were to happen to 'em. I'm a reasonable Mafia don though, I just want to 'Wet my beak' as they say."
It seems to me that, with the exception of Novell, the distros signing up for this thing are all small-time distros with relatively small user bases.
I can't grok what Novell could possibly have been thinking, but it would make sense for the less popular distros to align with microsoft as they instantly become newsworthy and generate more interest.
Has there *ever* been a slashdot story on TurboLinux prior to this? If there was it certainly wasn't recently.
Is MS's threats liable or slander? It seems that they always throw around that "we'll protect our Intellectual Property..." line a lot, but no one seems to have a clue what their talking about. As far as I know, making unsubstantiated claims like that for the purpose of scaring corporations away from Linux is illegal (called liable or slander I think). It's akin to "Brand X" claiming "Brand Y kills a puppy every time you use their product", when they don't. Can someone shed some light on this issue? Does Linux infringe upon MS IP, and if it doesn't, why hasn't Redhat or someone sued them to shut up?
Frustration is understandable, but targeted disgust can be more therapeutic. Instead of "dammit" try saying "treacherous judases who have just signed their own death warrant and thank fuck they're just a pissant little distro that nobody really gave a shit and whose only notable achievement is this sudden managing to replace the Linux world's apathy toward them in one stroke, albeit with dislike."
Yep, saying that is much more therapeutic. Especially at the top of a thread on an international tech news forum.
"Traitors - we piss on you!"
Aide-toi, le Ciel t'aidera - Jeanne D'Arc.
When Pat sells out, the fat lady will be singing. Not before.
Until then, get busy living.
Stick Men
Just another linux company slowly sliding into obscurity as other linux distros make get larger and more capable by the day. This market rationalization will end up with a few major distros ready to take on Redmond head-to-head - and win.
Small distros will still continue to exist, to serve their market niches where warranted, and not as "me to" linux.
Kevin Smith on Prince
Sliding into obscurity?
In order for that to happen, the item must first have been something other than obscure.
The last time I heard mention of Turbolinux, every distribution was obscure (and most of them still are). That Turbolinux continues to remain obscure while others have become somewhat more common does not mean that it's sliding anywhere, but is instead only an indication that it turned stagnant a long time go.
Kid-proof tablet..
Who is turbolinux again? Oh, and btw, they can kiss any gpl3 stuff goodbye now. And unlike novell, i seriously doubt they have the resources to fork it themselves.
None of these distros have any real percentage of users. Turbolinux has been all but dead for a long while. Novell Linux is a joke, but then, so is Novell. Linspire, no better. Xandros, no better either. Just ignore them, don't buy their shit, oops, I mean distributions. Again, this is why the Linux kernel MUST be moved to GPL v3. This would cut this patent bullshit from Microsoft out, or at least force these parasites to bloody well fucking fork their own kernels under a GPL v2 release.
Linus is a stubborn, cowardic fool.
Dave
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. --Martin Luther King Jr.
Wow, so much hate. Is there anybody out there who actually works in an IT shop in Japan? No? Just me? Okay.
The only two viable Linux distributions at the enterprise Level are Red Hat, and Turbolinux (sorry Vine). But Turbolinux has been on the decline for some time, and due to the growing intrest in Ubuntu and SuSE Turbolinux is feeling the squeeze.
I think that this deal could be huge for Turbolinux. You have to understand, MS is the norm, the standard, the *everything* in Japan. Linux exists but it is waaay fringe, fringe stuff. The company I work for is looking to upgrade an enterprise wide system (everything is MS here), so naturally I see it as a perfect opportunity to begin to integrate Linux/Open Source and the benefits that come with doing so. We've been talking to a lot of big vendors. When I ask them their stance on open source they laugh at me. They litterally laugh at me. They tell me something to the effect that "this is Japan; Japan is Microsoft." They gave me blank stares when I asked them if they knew what "Ubuntu" or "MySQL" was (well, one or two people knew what MySQL was). None of the vendor solutions we have seen so far is compatible with non-MS/Oracle technology.
So given the assumption that Japan is a Microsoft world, if you wanted to integrate Linux wouldn't you want to use a distribution that played nicely with your existing MS infastructure with minimal hassle? Wouldn't you want a distribution developed in your native country by people who understand Japanese culture? (And beleive me, Japanese corporate culture is waaaay different from Western corporate cultures). Of course you would--to a Japanese "salaryman" it is a no-brainer issue.
With this latest move by Turbolinux, my company is now considering the viability of incorporating Turbolinux into our infrastructure. We will be running tests. Maybe we'll go with Turbolinux, maybe we won't. Either way, this is a good move for Turbolinux (how MS will benefit remains to be seen...).