It seems that Red Hat and Microsoft are talking about striking a deal...

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2154521,00.asp

I think that if Red Hat signs a deal with Microsoft then Linux has lost it's big contender. We have no one else as big as Red Hat on our side. If Red Hat signs a deal with Microsoft...it will be the start of the "Linux Civil War".

Thoughts?

-custangro

From a quick read of the article, Red Hat seems to be saying, "Let's set aside intellectual property issues (ie, your 235 bullshit patents) and talk about interoperability." I have no problem with that. The end is near only if Red Hat gives in on patents, and I didn't see any indication in the article that they will do so. Did I miss something?

Only Microsoft's general untrustworthiness. MS is still the big dog, and they won't enter any agreements without getting something in return. Right now, I imagine that "something" would be support for their OOXML (supposedly) open document format. Redhat holds a very strong hand in the networking compatibility area, but I'm sure MS is equally interested in Desktop interoperabilty, and that is a troublesome area.

I imagine that MS could set up closed-source Desktop hooks that would only work correctly for Linux companies which have signed some sort of partnership agreement. I hope Redhat steers clear for the time being, but the Redhat's and Ubuntu's of the world will have a hard time avoiding this sort of offer.

My assumption is that, in the long run MS knows it will have to move to a Unix type kernel, and is looking for technical and interface support in that area. Redhat could, indeed, offer a lot of that.

What kind of deal?No deal with Microsoft is the only option!I will change my distro if that happens...

I think at this point not talking with Microsoft would be a mistake. There's nothing to be gained by sitting at the wayside and pretending nothing is going on.

Bingo, I agree 100%.

MS won't give up on their "intellectual property" issue - so, no deal. They're only trying a divide-and-conquer routine on the FOSS community. ++++ 'em, I say.

In any discussion with those charming chaps from Redmond, always remember those three little words so often quoted:

Embrace, Extend, Extinguish.

The Microsoft attitude will not change. Their entire approach to the FOSS community reeks of this. They are trying to divide the community from the distributions. The Suse thing is a case in point, although IMO Novell are slipping further into irrelevance as each year goes by. They need the cash, and Microsoft provided some. They sold their soul though, and I think they're beginning to realise that.

The other distributions Microsoft have "bought" are too small to be of note.

Red Hat appear to be dealing with this in the right way. "We'll talk about interoperability, but until you publicly state where you're I-P problems are, you don't have any I-P problems.".

In the words of The Joker ... "Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"