Comments

• SubSónica

  2007-07-18 09:10:14

  Microsoft wants to acquire every company that can compete with their offerings (this is an old trend deep rooted in M$ behaviour and corporate culture): They cannot acquire Linux directly, but are trying hard to "zombify" every Linux company they can: Novell competes with Active Directory and has alternatives, which, in combination with Linux could provide a viable infrastructure alternative to the whole M$ IT offering: There are a number of other technologies that could enter in conflict with M$ interests and grand scheme of corporate IT world domination: for example Mono, Evolution and the plugins to connect to exchange (remember this one). That is why M$ badly wanted and had to get the pact and boy out the Novell. Xandros and Linspire are wannabee windows clones with a linux base: moreover they were easy targets, and fell rapidly inside M$ orbit. Now: I mentioned exchange: In many cases exchange is the biggest lock-in element in many enterprises that avoids a full migration process to FOSS, so now they are going to try and control any possible alternatives to exchange: Scalix is one, expect Zimbra getting under assault anytime soon.

• gpl1

  2007-07-18 09:49:55

  Much of these companies are also under unfavorable licenses. Zimbra is under a modified MPL license (incompatible with the GPLv2 and Debian Free Software Guidelines). Of course, this also ties in with MS being interested in Novell with their systems management software Zenworks and eDirectory.
  
  But anyways, antitrust laws are supposed to take care of this sort of thing if it were Microsoft doing it...but instead it's the puppet Xandros doing it.
  
  Also, remember that OpenXchange is excluded from the MS patent agreements with Novell (along with "Clone Products", OO.org, etc). It's under the GPL and a CC license. Something about this type of software must scare MS. The European Commission must have hit very close to home when it wanted interoperability with eg., Active Directory.

• Roy Schestowitz

  2007-07-18 10:00:07

  > But anyways, antitrust laws are supposed to > take care of this sort of thing if it were Microsoft > doing it…but instead it’s the puppet Xandros doing it.
  
  Remember XenSource and Novell?
  
  http://boycottnovell.com/2007/01/04/novell-could-buy-a-virtualisation-company/
  
  Mind the comment from David.
  
  > Also, remember that OpenXchange is excluded from the MS patent > agreements with Novell (along with “Clone Products”, OO.org, etc).
  
  Just moments ago, stimulated by the breaking news from NoMachine and inspired by SubSónica, I posted an update that discusses "Clone Products". Hopefully the links will help. Your comment, which I read after I had issued the update, seems to reaffirm that very same view.
  
  The use of proxies to make 'hostile' takeovers was discussed here several times in the past.

• gpl1

  2007-07-18 10:28:27

  Just a Spelling Correction: "antirust videos" --> "antitrust videos"

• Roy Schestowitz

  2007-07-18 11:00:44

  Thanks, I'm feeling rusty now. :-)