LXer: Why Red Hat doesn't need a deal with Microsoft
 

Published at LXer:

The trade press reported a lot of rumors this past week about the chances for a patent protection pact between Red Hat and Microsoft similar to the agreements Microsoft negotiated with Novell, Xandros, and Linspire. Red Hat doesn't appear to be interested in the least. Here's why.

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I'm glad RedHat has made its position very clear as well.
As the largest GNU/Linux distributor, their rejection of patent deals with MS is really vital for both moral and unity in the community.

Red Hat is too smart for m$

That's good news. It's about time someone made a stand.

Time will tell. I hope Redhat continues to take a firm stand, but I expect to hear any time that MS has changed its agreements from a basis of mutual patent protection to interoperability. If Novell starts to gain ground because their server installations are more compatible with Windows Server apps, Redhat would be hard pressed not to make some kind of deal. Redhat can't be lured strictly for money (like Novell, Xandros, Linspire, etc), I don't believe, but server efficiency in an integrated corporate marketplace might be another story.

It appears to me that the MS plan is to integrate Linux into its business model, and to hope that they can keep the upper hand over their new partners. If enough commercial distributions partner with MS regardless of the focus of their agreements, they'll be able to make it difficult for the ones left standing on their own.