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June 18, 2007
Microsoft pursues Red Hat Linux deal
Pressure mounts for more indemnification deals
By Elizabeth Montalbano, IDG News Service
Microsoft hopes to strike a Linux pact with Red Hat, similar to its deals with Novell, Xandros and Linspire.
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"We'd love to do the same deal with Red Hat," said Tom Robertson, general manager of corporate interoperability and standards at Microsoft. "We're always open to talking with them."
That sentiment has not so far been echoed by Red Hat's. The company has said it's not interested in a deal. Red Hat spokeswoman Leigh Day said that is still the case.
"We continue to believe that open source and the innovation it represents should not be subject to an unsubstantiated tax that lacks transparency," she said.
Still, some wonder - as Microsoft lines up the other Linux ducks in a neat little row - if Red Hat might be next, and rumours suggest a pact might be imminent. Microsoft's latest Linux deal came last Thursday with Linspire, a deal that would shield the company's customers from Microsoft patent-infringement claims. The deal follows one struck by Microsoft and Linux distributor Xandros, and a high-profile and financially significant deal with Novell last November.
Microsoft has said it is seeking these partnerships for a couple of reasons. The one Robertson is most interested in is interoperability, as he - along with Jean Paoli, general manager, interoperability and XML architecture - is in charge of Microsoft's 18-month company-wide strategy in this area.
Robertson said Microsoft customers have demanded the company address interoperability issues with other companies' software, including open source, and that IP in those products is a concern for them. "If you look across the industry, you see companies working together to address IP on behalf of their customer base," he said.
Microsoft has publicly said that Linux and other open-source software violates 235 of the company's patents. But rather than suing to settle these IP claims, Microsoft is striking individual deals, Robertson said. However, much has been made of the fact that the company has not publicly disclosed any of the patents it claims open-source software is violating.
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Comments received
Hike said on Monday, 18 June 2007
Words to the new Microsoft theme song:
"Anything SCO can do, we can do better!"
If Microsoft had any real issues, they would act decisively to remove the threat that Linux poses to them.
mcse said on Monday, 18 June 2007
I burn my MSCE in protest to MS' clearly monopolistic actions.
It's good to see how MS are loosing their developm said on Monday, 18 June 2007
MS still builds on the Visual Basic developers, while Sun, IBM and the rest have taken the major infrastructures... Bye bye MS. Counting the days back, you can bribe Xandros. But can't do this to Google and alike.
It's the final count-down. Red Hat would be crazy to work with MS.
Ray Trygstad said on Tuesday, 19 June 2007
So if striking a deal with Microsoft is so great, how come none of those who have signed now offer read/write compatibility with NTFS? That's what I would have held out for in a Microsoft deal.
rt said on Tuesday, 19 June 2007
HAHAHA!
Microsoft is getting scare of Linux now...
P.S> Linux Rule!
Steven Ndichu said on Tuesday, 19 June 2007
Ray,you don't need M$ collaboration for read write compatibility. Try ntfs-3g on Ubuntu. Read/Write just works.
Attila said on Tuesday, 19 June 2007
No need for Microsoft help to be able to read/write NTFS. Most distributions already includes the safe www.ntfs-3g.org driver
Ubuntu-Zenwalk User said on Tuesday, 19 June 2007
There is also the distinct possibility that thorugh these deals, Microsoft will tie up the high level portion of the organization and keep them from creating work arounds with the patents when Microsoft unleashes its brigade of patent lawyers. Then it is a matter of money and desperation to keep the courts to rule that Microsoft is not a distribution vendor by the wording of the GPL v3. Corporate crimes, which would lead to that kind of ruling, are the most violent and well planned of all forms of organized crime.
anthony said on Friday, 05 June 2009
microsoft suing! ! ! and they have been sued how many times. A bunch of petty infighting. I guess one tactic is to keep pointing the finger at the other guy, so know one sees how bad you are. If you can't defeat the opponent in a court of law, bury them in legal costs.