Published at LXer:

Open source and filed IP / live together in perfect har-mo-nyDell has become the first major player to show up to Microsoft and Novell's compatibility love-in.…

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I was wondering what exactly M$ gets out of its deal with Novell. Just money? M$ has promised not to go after Novell's linux and get's a piece of the Novell pie for it, but is that all? What if M$ wants protection as well. Why would they need protection from linux? M$ has been studying linux in it's own labs, maybe they realize the end result is that they will be creamed by linux in the future. Maybe M$ is looking to incorporate some linux code into their OS and doesn't want to be taken to task for it. Maybe M$ has realized that their OS is unmaintainable and plans on their own version of linux, but closed source. Stupid? Maybe, but it is something to think about.

My interpretation is that Microsoft is trying to assert ownership of some of the Linux code, and therefore Linux users need to pay Microsoft. Balmer has stated repeatedly that there is Microsoft IP in Linux, and the whole point of the Novell deal was to indemnify Suse users from Microsoft lawsuits. The implicit threat is that anyone using a Linux distro other than Suse is vulnerable to a lawsuit from Microsoft. Unless they pay a nice, fat licensing fee.