Lay with dogs and you'll get up with fleas...

Novell is paying a royalty payment to Microsoft for EVERY SUSE Enterprise distribution it sells. Novell has NOT addressed what precisely this money is for. The implication (and perception of Mr. Steve Ballmer at Microsoft) is that the payment is in recognition of Microsoft intellectual property inside of Linux. Novell has to climb out of a huge hole. This letter means nothing.

In return, Microsoft makes a mass purchases of SLES licenses worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

IMHO, Novell needs lots of money and needs it fast. They'd make whatever deal necessary at this point to get the extra cash... and spin it however they can... but at the end of the day, without this deal... Novell may die.

Nothing in this deal looks pretty.... I don't think that Microsoft drafted this necessarily with "direct" bad intentions, though I do think they could see that this could be Novell's undoing. If not, it would end up being Red Hat's undoing.. so either way Microsoft wins (and they like to win).

Is Novell so afraid that they have to publish an open letter? Has Microsoft just tricked Novell with upfront money? Novell has communicated that they value the open source community giving them their "Free" labors but so what? Honestly, this is the "BigTalk." Nothing has changed. Microsoft has just paid to get access to the Open Source community through Novell...Thanks!

Dear Mr. Hovsepian,

What will Novell do when it's partner in this deal , via Steve 'chair thrower' Ballmer, makes comments such as:

1) "In a sense you could say anybody who has got Linux in their data center today sort of has an undisclosed balance sheet liability"

2) "because only a customer who has Suse Linux actually has paid properly for the use of intellectual property from Microsoft"

How does Novell stand when it's new buddy is threatening everyone else on the playground?

What makes you think that if Microsoft gets their way that Novell won't be next in line for a good beating?

Why should I ever recommend SUSE to a client?

To specifically answer your questions:

1.What do I think? See comments above.
2. Do these statements influence your decision to use Novell? No, if you already use SUSE...go back to sleep! If your new...welcome. Microsoft is backing Novell so the company will survive.
Do you think Microsoft drafted the deal with Novell with bad intentions? Bad intentions? Microsoft does what is best for them. Is that bad?
"Microsoft services for Linux"...sounds good..Yeah!

What total BS. Novell used to have a page repudiating MS's Linux Myths. Wayback has the original page:
http://web.archive.org/web/20060113044918/http://www.novell.com/linux/truth/

Compare that to the current page:
http://www.novell.com/linux/truth/
which redirects you to:
http://www.novell.com/whynovell/

As Pamela Jone on Groklaw put it:
"So, here's the question I have for Novell: what happened to that promise to protect FOSS with its patent portfolio? Novell did say it. We relied upon it, and OIN is totally separate from the above promise. I mention that because some Novell guys have been saying that Novell never made any such promise or that the OIN patents fulfill the promise. Read the promise again. Novell clearly promised to use its patent portfolio, not OIN's, and Novell appears to have just bargained that patent portfolio away, giving Microsoft a clear path to now bring patent infringement claims against everyone else. Novell's character and honor is on the line. And we await your statement with interest."

From the press release announcing the deal:
The two companies also announced an agreement to provide each others’ customers with patent coverage for their respective products.

If Novel has not implied that Linux is contaminated by MS patent infringements, how can they say that MS will provide patent coverage for SUSE Linux??

also from the press release:

The patent agreement enables Microsoft and Novell to address the patent issues between them, which will give customers assurance of protection against patent infringement claims. It gives customers confidence the technologies they use and deploy in their environments are compliant with the two companies’ patents.

As part of this agreement, Microsoft will provide a covenant not to assert its patent rights against customers who have purchased SUSE Linux Enterprise Server or other covered products from Novell, and Novell will provide an identical covenant to customers who have a licensed version of Windows or other covered products from Microsoft.

Last, but not least:

Under the patent agreement, both companies will make up-front payments in exchange for a release from any potential liability for use of each others patented intellectual property, with a net balancing payment from Microsoft to Novell reflecting the larger applicable volume of Microsoft’s product shipments. Novell will also make running royalty payments based on a percentage of its revenues from open source products.

Royalty Payments to MS for patent infringements that do not exist? Come on Mr. Hovsepian, you must think that Linux users are idiots that will believe any BS doubletalk you spout.

Hey RomanianConnection,

Why should I ever recommend SUSE to a client? First, because it's a better Linux than RedHAT.
Second, less confusion. For all of us who have wondered which of these variants will win...it's clear now.
Third, you know have a profitable business model to work from. Your families and friends will be grateful that your working for money not because it's "open source." Women will now smile at you when you say, "Novell Linux powered by Microsoft" :-).

Do you have anymore questions?

Ohh...I almost forgot one more thing.

Microsoft Office on Linux.
More cashflow for the cashcow in Redmond.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Novell.

Microsoft Office on Linux.

Thank you Codeweaver and crossover office...not M$.. thank you very much.

Dear Mr. Hovsepian,

I see many people are feeling left out with you deal and they are jealous. I made the deal of the century and caught Microsoft when it needed friends. We all recognize that Microsoft is changing tactics because of Linux and Google. So what if short sited people think you sold out. The people that support Novel’s efforts think otherwise and that is what matters.

The way I see it is that you took out an insurance policy against Microsoft and even got them to pay for it. That is smart and you need to be rewarded for that great idea. Other people are unhappy because it leaves them uncovered. Nobody knows if patented coded exists in Linux but at least now they can be sure if they use SUSE version of Linux they don’t have to worry about it. Now that is a great business move. Sure they will complain and beach but you know what, those are then none SUSE users that are just plain and simple jealous of your beautiful tactical move.

I can’t wait to see how the other litigations are going to get settled. If I was Microsoft I should be afraid a bit, because look out Microsoft Office compatibility on Linux is on its way.

Good luck Mr. Hovsepian, you know what, when you get the next settlement money from Microsoft you will have enough money to turn around do a hostile takeover of Red Hat. This would quiet down all the other Linux people because there would be nowhere else for them to turn but to SUSE.

Cyber4joy, I enjoyed your comments. But I don't understand this? Why would Suse want to buy Redhat? Wouldn't that be a waste of money? What value could 2 LINUX vendors offer each other?

Personally, this letter makes 2 statements to me. 1. Microsoft is going to help Suse gain more traction inside of the Enterprise. RedHat is currently the Linux incumbent. 2. Suse/Novell needs to maintain the support from the "Free" aka Open source work community. Making a deal with Microsoft requires them to publish an open letter to maintain old relationships(open source).

"...and we welcome dialog with the community as to how we can continue to work together toward these common goals."

Ok, one thing that you forgot to list in your list of action items is action item number 6:

6. And by making this "screw the Linux community" deal with Microsoft, we have effectively put ourselves out of business.

The solution to all this uncertainly is simple. Steve (Bully) Ballmer need to identify any infringing Microsoft patents within the Linux kernel so the infringements can be dealt with or keep his big and loud mouth shut. Continuing FUD from Steve will only serve to show, even more, Microsoft as an unprofessional corporation.

Mr. Speaker, I have in my hands a list of 435 know communists. Or is that 238? Or are they socialists?

All we know is that you don't need to be right, or have facts, or actually display the "patents" in question.

You just need to spread doubt and uncertainty to get the pointy-hairs to feel nervous.

If you're an underhanded sleazy vole-like chair-throwing weasle, that is your need.

Because competing is for suckers, threatening lawsuits is the noble thing to do.

Dear George,

Novel should be Red Hat for two reasons. Reason one is to eliminate competition and start a new standard for both server and desktop Linux. SUSE is in the best position for that. Reason two is JBOSS the application server. With JBOSS, Novel can grow its consulting service where it would provide IT Application Services. This alone can and will bring in Billions of dollars and I do mean Billions. JBOSS is the reason Oracle is so pissed of at Red Hat. I think Microsoft will look favorably and will help Novel to get this started. If Microsoft thinks Novels has this plan I think Microsoft will give even more money for the other settlements with Novel. Microsoft thinks its better to have Novel as a competitor then Oracle or Red Hat. But with this kind of artillery they will both do great even as competitors.

Hi All,
1 - Novell still protects the Open Source Community with it's patent portfolio, just like before.
2 - Novell is a co-founder and supporter of the Open Invention Network, just like before.
3 - Novell sends every open source improvement made to ease MS/Linux interoperability right back to the Open Source Community, just like before.
4 - Ever growing numbers of people with Linux skills will be needed and their salaries will increase, just like before.
5 - We'll spend the next many years integrating Linux and Windows and whatever comes next - just like before.

Novell provides even more protection and support to the community now than it did before. We'll find it easier to work in MS shops too.

As for Novell needing money, no it doesn't. It has hundreds of millions in cash and no debt.

I think it's a good thing for the community and SuSE/MS customers too and I'm grateful for it.

One thing you're not thinking of here, is that Linux itself, Tovald's baby, is the kernel. I don't believe the kernel is the piece of "Linux" that anyone feels has code that infringes upon anyone's intellectual property. The kernel is Linux, not all the other garbage (good and bad) that's thrown upon it. It wouldn't be the same without the garbage, I agree, but the core of "Linux" is Linux itself (the kernel). Everything else is just icing. If the icing is bad, it can be replaced. JMHO.

One more thing. Has anyone thought that maybe Mr. Ballmer is ranting about this to steer us away from the idea that maybe Microsoft products have infringed upon someone else's IP? The guilty usually are the first to point a finger. And what is that 400 million to Novell for? Could it be payments to clear the Microsoft collective conscience? I'm sure part of this is the M$ collective attempting to assimilate yet another easy target. The collective has been around, seemingly adapting. And there are fewer Picard's to get in the way. JMHO.