[ale] Interesting note from the Wall Street Journal today

[James P. Kinney III]

On Mon, 2006-11-06 at 11:04 -0500, Bob Toxen wrote:
> Methinks that if M$ wanted to destroy Linux (beyond its FUD, politicing,
> and incompatibility efforts) it would buy the largest Distro, Red Hat,
> and shut it down.  If the other poster's estimate of $3B is correct,
> that's a drop in the ocean for M$ and its ROI would pay for it within a
> year.
> 
> I think, instead, that our World Domination efforts have paid off.
> Linux is popular enough that M$'s anti-interoperability is starting to
> backfire with major clients threatening to dump M$ entirely if it does
> not play nice with Linux.  By picking a smaller vendor but one popular
> in Europe, M$ still weakens Red Hat.

Good point. But I am cynical enough to see it from a different
standpoint:

M$ funded the SCO debacle. They thought they could shut down Linux that
way. But during the mess, it was revealed that the code SCO is claiming
they "own" and thus is the core of the infringement is actually "owned"
by Novell. Thus the M$ interest in Novell is not so much to sway it's
big buyers into placation by actually offering better interoperability.
If they are able to leverage a strategic partnership into a co-ownership
of Novell code, they can require a license fee for the use of that code
and effectively shut down RedHat and everyone else. Thus M$ can then
claim the interoperability issue is _caused_ by Linux as they have
"stolen" M$ property.

I had another part to this argument but I'm too tired to recall it right
now.
> 
> Bob Toxen
> bob at verysecurelinux.com               [Please use for email to me]
> http://www.verysecurelinux.com        [Network&Linux/Unix security consulting]
> http://www.realworldlinuxsecurity.com [My book:"Real World Linux Security 2/e"]
> Quality Linux & UNIX security and SysAdmin & software consulting since 1990.
> 
> "Microsoft: Unsafe at any clock speed!"
>    -- Bob Toxen 10/03/2002
> 
> On Thu, Nov 02, 2006 at 03:18:21PM -0500, Dan Lambert wrote:
> > Hmmmm...
> 
> > The thought HAD crossed my mind. I don't trust Gates and Crowd as far as 
> > I can throw their headquarters building.
> 
> > Dan
> 
> > Jeff Lightner wrote:
> > > The day MS "helps" a rival is the day to sell that rival's stock.
> > > 
> > > -----Original Message-----
> > > From: ale-bounces at ale.org [mailto:ale-bounces at ale.org] On Behalf Of Dan
> > > Lambert
> > > Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2006 3:11 PM
> > > To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts
> > > Subject: [ale] Interesting note from the Wall Street Journal today
> > > 
> > > 
> > > I thought you folks might be interested in this Tech Alert I just got 
> > > from the Wall Street Journal.
> > > 
> > > "Microsoft Is Set to Give Linux a Boost
> > > Through Partnership With Novell
> > > By ROBERT A. GUTH
> > > November 2, 2006 2:59 p.m.
> > > [nowides]
> > > 
> > > Microsoft Corp. is entering into an unusual partnership with Novell Inc.
> > > 
> > > that gives a boost to the Linux operating system, a rival to the 
> > > software giant's Windows software, according to people familiar with the
> > > 
> > > companies."
> > > 
> > > There's more, but I thought everyone would be interested in seeing what 
> > > MS and Novell are up to.
> > > 
> > > Dan
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-- 
James P. Kinney III          
CEO & Director of Engineering 
Local Net Solutions,LLC        
770-493-8244                    
http://www.localnetsolutions.com

GPG ID: 829C6CA7 James P. Kinney III (M.S. Physics)
<jkinney at localnetsolutions.com>
Fingerprint = 3C9E 6366 54FC A3FE BA4D 0659 6190 ADC3 829C 6CA7
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