THE previous post showed how Microsoft was helping Novell against so-called 'unlicensed' GNU/Linux distributions like Ubuntu, Mandriva, or Red Hat. The following new article not only reiterates this but it also describes a Microsoft/Novell anniversary as "toasting" as though it's a wine party with celebrations. This type of public affair was seen and noted before.

Microsoft, Novell toast anniversary with tools, support coupons

Marking the two-year anniversary of their partnership, Microsoft and Novell said Wednesday they were releasing tools to help users manage and support SUSE Linux.

Pedantic point: Microsoft is now calling the “coupons” just “patent royalties,” says Matt Asay.

This type of out-of-the-blue coverage came after Microsoft and Novell had decided to brag about their 'special relationship' in a press release.

Strong customer demand, technical collaboration and commercial success affirms strategy and partner model.

Marking the two-year anniversary of their agreement to build a bridge between SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Windows, Microsoft Corp. and Novell, Inc., today are celebrating strong customer demand for their business model and strategy that provides interoperability and intellectual property (IP) peace of mind. The companies are announcing two significant milestones resulting from the Microsoft and Novell technical collaboration: the coming availability of an Advanced Management Pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 and a free beta download of Novell's Moonlight rich media application. The companies are also reinforcing the fact that Novell's new SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Subscription with Expanded Support program will be supported through Microsoft's sale of certificates for Novell service.

This was followed by a lot of publicity from the Wintel press [1, 2], Microsoft bloggers [3], some fairly impartial parties [4, 5], and Novell-friendly press [6].

We feel obliged to warn readers about a site called VirtualizationReview.com. The name sounds very innocent, but it's part of the network of Microsoft Web magazines and it seems fairly new (much like [Jeff Gould's 2236] "Interop News," which is not news but Microsoft propaganda, including vicious attacks on Free software). It's also deceiving readers by echoing Microsoft bloggers and Microsoft 'buddies' like the Yankee Group. For example:

Microsoft and Novell issued an announcement on Tuesday marking the two-year anniversary of their controversial agreement surrounding Linux patents. In addition, the companies described a couple of updates that they plan to make available to their enterprise customers.

[...]

One of the benefits of Novell's expanded support is helping users switch from Red Hat Enterprise Linux to Novell's solution. A Yankee Group study cited by veteran Microsoft watcher Mary-Jo Foley suggested that Red Hat lost some of its Linux server market share following the Microsoft-Novell agreement.

See the link above for a rebuttal. It's a load of Microsoft-generated or Novell-serving spin. Despite all that self-congratulating smooching, people continue to choose Red Hat, whose business is always growing.

Novell Inc.'s latest pitch to lure Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) customers to migrate to Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise appears to be a tough sell.

Last week, in a deal similar to bank enticements that target new checking account customers, Waltham, Mass.-based Novell offered existing Red Hat customers two years of Red Hat support and updates with every three-year premium SUSE Linux Enterprise subscription, at no extra charge. The total cost is $3,748 per server, compared with $3,507 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and $6,747 for RHEL's Advanced Platform including clusters and virtualization.

By supporting both platforms, Novell prevents customers from having to extend their existing Red Hat subscriptions during the transition to Novell and avoids a protection gap during the platform migration, which typically is done over a period of time. Red Hat customers, however, will lose the remaining value of their canceled Red Hat subscriptions.

From RHEL to SUSE Linux? No way!

The number of reasons for mistrust in the mainstream press is increasing as more of the big publications approach bankruptcy and sell out instead of going down while properly reporting the news. The lazier reporters did not even bother contacting Novell customers (we'll abstain from naming actual reporters). Instead, they went to Microsoft and Novell's Web site and quoted testimonials from there, verbatim. The writings are therefore likely to be distant from truth and akin to the very same marketing pitch they lazily parrot. Sad but true. ⬆

_____ [1] Microsoft, Novell See Profits in Partnership (comments here)

Two years ago, Microsoft and Novell inked a landmark deal on patents and Linux-to-Windows interoperability. According to Microsoft and Novell, it's a deal that has shown dramatic momentum in its second year, with a triple digit percentage increase in customers for a total tally of more than 200 customers.

[2] Microsoft, Novell Unveil Two Significant Milestones to their Two-Year old Partnership - Quick Facts

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT: News ) and Novell, Inc. (NOVL: News ) Wednesday announced two significant milestones resulting from the companies' technical collaboration.

First, the general availability of Novell's Advanced Management Pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2, which will be available in the first half of 2009.

[3] Microsoft, Novell sign more than 200 customers in second year of alliance

In the first year, the companies touted big customers such as Wal-Mart, BMW and Siemens. In the past year, the customer base has diversified into areas such as China, Spain, Portugal, Singapore and Japan, said Susan Heystee, Novell's general manager of global alliances.

[4] Tech Roundup: Psystar Countersuit Dies, Amazon Enters Content Delivery, More

Microsoft, Novell, and Vista — Two years after making their deal, Microsoft and Novell paint a rosy picture of the results. But some critics say that both companies are putting their interests ahead of the free software community. Meanwhile, as they say, insider emails show that Microsoft had internal wrangling over relaxing the “Vista Capable” program and concern about comparisons between Vista and Apple’s Mac OS X before the new version of Windows came out. Little did they know that the big competition would be XP.

[5] Microsoft and Novell Partners on Silverlight Conduit Called Moonlight

Touting the second anniversary of their contentious partnership, Microsoft and Novell on Tuesday announced that they are all set to launch the beta version of Moonlight, a Firefox supported service that lets Silverlight content to run on Linux PCs.

[6] Microsoft and Novell celebrate second anniversary

Marking the two-year anniversary of their agreement to build a bridge between SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and Windows, Microsoft Corp. and Novell, Inc., today are celebrating strong customer demand for their business model and strategy that provides interoperability and intellectual property (IP) peace of mind. The companies are announcing two significant milestones resulting from the Microsoft and Novell technical collaboration: the coming availability of an Advanced Management Pack for SUSE Linux Enterprise for Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 and a free beta download of Novell's Moonlight rich media application.

Two years of treason