__/ [ ml2mst ] on Saturday 17 February 2007 15:49 \__
> On 17 feb, 15:09, Roy Schestowitz <newsgro...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> Ballmer: Novell deal proves open source needs to 'respect IP rights'
>>
> - Snipped all -
>
> Now what's your personal opinion on this topic Roy?
It's the main part of Microsoft's plan. They couldn't care less about the
Linux vouchers and interoperability, which are decoys. Earlier today I
posted a link to a Linux Journal item that contained inside information.
Together with my interview with Jeremy Allison -- that which speaks about
90th-minute addition of obscure patent exchanges -- it all seems clear(er).
Microsoft intends to fight Linux by claiming that Linux distributors and
users owe them money. They want to use Novell as precedence and they paid
Novell $0.3 billion to swallow this bait.
The best we can do is show our disgust over the deal, the disapproval, and
probably engage in boycott tactics. Novell will lose its membership in the
GNU/Linux club when GPLv3 comes out. The FSF is not stupid and it knows very
well why the release of the license is worth delaying. They do not want to
permit another licence exploit to allow Novell access. The wording is very
important and they need to consider hypothetical scenarios. They want Novell
/out/ (in the cold). As much as I loved Novell and SUSE, I feel like there's
no choice now. They punish the whole community for self gain (while Novell
managers get conspicuous bonuses). It sometimes seems as though Novell were
lured into Microsoft's turf of corruption, arrogance, and endless deceit.
> I am personally really freaked out about the Novel <> Microsoft deal.
>
> I remember I was not quite happy when Novell acquired SUSE a couple of
> years ago. Then they changed their standard desktop to Gnome (however
> you still have the option to choose between Gnome and KDE).
I was never happy about this either. I posted quite a lot on this topic in
the SUSE newsgroups. I said they would neglect KDE, which over time they
did. They wanted to standardise the desktop for the enterprise (an upcoming
SLES/SLED 10), but they gave up on some functionality which gives Linux a
strong competitive edge. While I don't agree with the strong language of
Linus on this issue, I tend to agree that for many people, KDE is simply
better. But to use a car analogy, sometimes a small car is more suitable
than a truck. There's no 'one size fits all'. GNOME has its place, but
making it default-ish could leave some users unimpressed (albeit less
overwhelmed and confused).
> SUSE Linux has been my favorite distribution for ages, but
> unfortunately I have the idea that there is noting Susy about the
> current SUSE Linux or OpenSUSE anymore.
Well, there's always that Ogg Vorbis-formatted tune on my hard drive! But I'm
no longer excited over (Open)SUSE. It's a love-hate relationship. The same
goes for Novell staff whom I kind of know (electronically).
> Probably I am over reacting in your opinion, but SUSE means a lot to
> me and now Novell is trowing it all away IMHO.
Microsoft is throwing a lot of money at Novell, so...
> Fortunately I've got somehow involved in the PC Linux OS development
> team, which is a pretty cool community. We're simply having fun and
> are pretty dedicated to each other. It's a great team and I love to be
> part of it.
I still think someone should fork Opensuse. I'm still sort of waiting for a
truly Novell-independent distro that takes advantage of Opensuse's excellent
integration. Someone could maintain a knockoff that strips off the branding
(e.g. logos, repositories) and adds the latest packages. Even if it lags
behind Novell, you would at least use the GPL to punish them. They trashed
the spirit of the GPL, so they deserve this. They knowingly betrayed
developers and one of their VPs admitted it was a selfish act.
> Anyway, I hope you are doing well and most of our fellow cola users.
>
> Have Fun!
>
> With kind regards,
> Marti van Lin
> Maastricht (NL)
> (alias the ML2MST)
>>
>> http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=265
Thanks.
--
~~ Greetings
Roy S. Schestowitz | make install -not war
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