Why? [LWN.net]

Why?

Posted Nov 3, 2006 3:15 UTC (Fri) by gdt (subscriber, #6284)
Parent article: Novell's press release on partnership with Microsoft

The media release does not address the business aims. Here's some guesses.

They want to cooperate on virtualisation as neither want VMWare's hypervisor to be the strategic software of the future. Both own operating systems, which are the strategic software of today, and neither wants to lose the power that gives them over further customer purchasing decisions.

They both fear a third party developing a compelling directory federation product or architecture. Look at how Microsoft has designed Active Directory so that the core of most enterprise networks must use some Microsoft products. Effective federation software could remove that need.

As if OpenOffice.org wasn't going to be able to import Microsoft's "Office Open XML". More interesting to all is Microsoft Office's ability to import and export OpenDocument files. And I can't find a detailed committment to do that in this agreement.

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Why?

Posted Nov 3, 2006 3:21 UTC (Fri) by landley (subscriber, #6789) [Link]

Well, one thing that looks clear is Microsoft wants to commercialize its
patent portfolio:

http://www.novell.com/linux/microsoft/faq.html

> 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.

...

> Q. Why is the patent agreement important?
>
> The patent agreement demonstrates that Microsoft is willing to enter
> into agreements that extend its patent protection to open source
> customers. This is an important foundation in building the bridge
> between proprietary and open source software.

Microsoft is paying Novell now, but after they've established the patent
portfolio as applying to Linux, and something royalty payments attach to?
They may expect money to flows their way later, after everybody's onboard.

Remember, the point of the SCO thing (from Microsoft's perspective) was to
attach per-unit royalties to Linux.

Rob

Why? "running royalty payments to Microsoft"

Posted Nov 3, 2006 13:13 UTC (Fri) by mjw (subscriber, #16740) [Link]

Remember, the point of the SCO thing (from Microsoft's perspective) was to attach per-unit royalties to Linux.

Which seems to be precisely what they will get now with Novell/Suse. From the Novell to make 'running royalty payments' to Microsoft article:

Who would have imagined Microsoft receiving royalty payments from a Linux vendor based on the ongoing sale of its open-source products? It could have been one of the main incentives for Microsoft to make the broader agreement -- which, on the flip side, will have Microsoft's sales force promoting Novell's Suse Linux to business customers that decide to go the Linux route.

Why? "running royalty payments to Microsoft"

Posted Nov 4, 2006 11:11 UTC (Sat) by nim-nim (subscriber, #34454) [Link]

The flip side has been summed up by Steve Ballmer in the conference this way :
« If anybody is confused by the end of the press conference, I'll say it now, you've got a new application that you want to instance, I'm going to tell you the right answer is Windows, Windows, Windows. »

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/steve/2006/11-02N...

Funny how reading the legal documents on the MS site and what MS execs actually said in the conference, is a tad different from the Novell FAQ. I don't see MS agreeing to any of the groundbreaking changes Novell advances to justify selling out.