LXer: What's What in Dell's Linux Deals
 

Published at LXer:

There's no connection between Dell's Microsoft/Novell deal and its Ubuntu patnership, but that won't stop Microsoft from FUDing about it.

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What the h*ll?

This is Microsoft using it's considerable monopoly power to make decisions about things that do not concern them.
How can they get away with this? :scratch:

At least to me, it is becoming increasingly obvious that Microsoft is scared witless about Linux. Their little gambit with SCO failed miserably, and now they are trying to FUD their way to getting paid for the use of unspecified IP in Linux.

The bottom line is that Microsoft can't affect how Ubuntu is licensed and distributed, they can only FUD. They don't have any legal rights over Ubuntu, and Dell can't enter into any agreements on Ubuntu's behalf. So all that is left is cranking up the ol' Microsoft FUD machine (which is probably the most functional part of the company) and make lots of noise. And that is exactly what you're seeing here.

What has convinced me of Microsoft being scared witless is my recent experience re-installing XP on my laptop. It was (and still is) a freaking nightmare. It really brought home to me just how big (and by big I mean gargantuan) advantage Microsoft has by having Windows pre-installed on machines. If Linux comes pre-installed on machines, it moves the competition to features and performance, a place where Windows has little to no advantage over Linux.

Between this and the adoption of open document formats, Microsoft is in deeeeeep kimchi.