M
MicroFox
LOL its so funny that I am seeing all the peices of the puzzle fit in with
my
prediction about the course of technology and in perticular the decline of
MS, in the following years.
http://www.****theinter.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1954
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said that every user of the open source
Linux system could owe his company money for using its intellectual
property. The statement will confirm the worst fears of the open source
community.
Microsoft recently signed a deal for SUSE Linux, a Novell-owned distribution
of the Linux operating system. The two companies pledged that they would
improve the interoperability of their products. Open source advocates were
amazed at the deal, but Ballmer's comments could vindicate the suspicions of
some.
Ballmer said in a question and answer session at a technology conference
that Microsoft signed the deal because Linux "uses our intellectual
property" and it wanted to "get the appropriate economic return for our
shareholders from our innovation".
Those claims to rights in Linux will set alarm bells ringing in the open
source community. Some had argued that the deal was a sophisticated way of
claiming rights over the software.
The deal involved a payment of $440m from Microsoft to Novell for coupons
which Microsoft users can redeem against support for SUSE Linux. A payment
that now looks to be more important, though, is a $40m payment from Novell
to Microsoft, reported to be a pledge that Microsoft will not sue its users
for patent infringement.
Ballmer was explaining the rationale behind that deal. "Novell pays us some
money for the right to tell customers that anybody who uses SUSE Linux is
appropriately covered," he said, according to Computerworld. "This is
important to us, because we believe every Linux customer basically has an
undisclosed balance sheet liability."
The comments will provoke fury amongst open source advocates who believe
that Microsoft has no claims at all on the intellectual property contained
in Linux.
In explaining the deal before Ballmer's comments, Roger Levy, vice-president
of open platform solutions at Novell, told a Paris press conference that the
deal solved a problem which was costing both firms money.
"Customers were afraid they'd get sued if they crossed platforms and this
meant that they were hesitating on buying decisions," said Levy. "As part of
the deal Microsoft will agree not to sue our customers and we agreed not to
sue their customers. This is not an agreement between companies - we can
still sue each other for any number of reasons - but ultimately our
respective customers needed peace of mind to make decisions."
Red Hat, which also distributes commercial versions of Linux, refused to
sign a similar deal with Microsoft. Red Hat "does not believe there is a
need for or basis for the type of relationship defined in the
Microsoft-Novell announcement", deputy general counsel Mark Webbink told
news agency Bloomberg in a statement
my
prediction about the course of technology and in perticular the decline of
MS, in the following years.
http://www.****theinter.net/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1954
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has said that every user of the open source
Linux system could owe his company money for using its intellectual
property. The statement will confirm the worst fears of the open source
community.
Microsoft recently signed a deal for SUSE Linux, a Novell-owned distribution
of the Linux operating system. The two companies pledged that they would
improve the interoperability of their products. Open source advocates were
amazed at the deal, but Ballmer's comments could vindicate the suspicions of
some.
Ballmer said in a question and answer session at a technology conference
that Microsoft signed the deal because Linux "uses our intellectual
property" and it wanted to "get the appropriate economic return for our
shareholders from our innovation".
Those claims to rights in Linux will set alarm bells ringing in the open
source community. Some had argued that the deal was a sophisticated way of
claiming rights over the software.
The deal involved a payment of $440m from Microsoft to Novell for coupons
which Microsoft users can redeem against support for SUSE Linux. A payment
that now looks to be more important, though, is a $40m payment from Novell
to Microsoft, reported to be a pledge that Microsoft will not sue its users
for patent infringement.
Ballmer was explaining the rationale behind that deal. "Novell pays us some
money for the right to tell customers that anybody who uses SUSE Linux is
appropriately covered," he said, according to Computerworld. "This is
important to us, because we believe every Linux customer basically has an
undisclosed balance sheet liability."
The comments will provoke fury amongst open source advocates who believe
that Microsoft has no claims at all on the intellectual property contained
in Linux.
In explaining the deal before Ballmer's comments, Roger Levy, vice-president
of open platform solutions at Novell, told a Paris press conference that the
deal solved a problem which was costing both firms money.
"Customers were afraid they'd get sued if they crossed platforms and this
meant that they were hesitating on buying decisions," said Levy. "As part of
the deal Microsoft will agree not to sue our customers and we agreed not to
sue their customers. This is not an agreement between companies - we can
still sue each other for any number of reasons - but ultimately our
respective customers needed peace of mind to make decisions."
Red Hat, which also distributes commercial versions of Linux, refused to
sign a similar deal with Microsoft. Red Hat "does not believe there is a
need for or basis for the type of relationship defined in the
Microsoft-Novell announcement", deputy general counsel Mark Webbink told
news agency Bloomberg in a statement
