Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell Makes Its Relationship With MeeGo More Formal (and Filled With the Mono Patent Trap), Tuxera Spreads exFAT Patent Trap



Summary: Two post-Memorial Day announcements signify the eternal attempts to spread Microsoft's patent tax to Linux through allies

NOVELL'S days may be numbered, but this company is causing enormous damage, as we have already shown twice just today [1, 2]. Concerns remain that Novell's continued pursuit of more and more software patents will actually end up being used against GNU/Linux:

Once again, the buzz has grown surrounding rumors that Novell may soon be snapped up in a buyout. As many as 20 companies may have registered bids for the company, according to the Wall Street Journal. Matt Asay notes that an auction of the company could become a patent troll bonanza, and I have to agree. Let's remember that Novell is no spring chicken. It owns lots of patents and lots of legacy applications. Overall, it would not be good to see Novell bought out, partly because it's one of the few U.S.-based public companies focused primarily on open source.


It's not just Novell's software patents that are an imminent threat; Novell is also spreading Microsoft's DNA all over the GNU/Linux world, probably consciously (by selection of strategy/employees). Here is a new article which mentions MeeGo adding Novell to its ranks. Big mistake.

Since the 1.0 release, MeeGo has added Novell, Telefónica, UI design company Movial, netbook software provider DeviceVM and Chinese companies CS2C and Red Flag Software to its list of support partners.


Last week we began showing that Novell had been contaminating MeeGo using Mono [1, 2, 3]. Maybe they are trying to 'take over' the project, just like they did with Moblin at one stage (the earlier days). What does Nokia have this say about it? This could also lead to the suspicion that maybe -- just maybe -- Nokia or Intel will attempt buy Novell. "Novell's sales down as it prepares to sell up," says the headline of this new article (more reports suggest a buyout).

Quarterly revenues fell 6% for troubled systems vendor, reported to be in talks with potential acquirers

Sales at systems and software vendor Novell fell 6% to $204 million in the second quarter of its fiscal year, despite managing to increase its profits for the second quarter running.


We now learn from Novell that its approach towards MeeGo is not a casual relationship. Here is the press release [1, 2] which is titled "Novell Announces Support for MeeGo" and here is some early coverage:

Keen observers might have noticed that Novell's comments were curiously absent. Did I forget them? No, they told me that they had something in the works, and I needed to stand by. Today, the question of Novell's continued support of MeeGo was answered with an announcement from Computex in Taiwan that they will release SUSE MeeGo "as a fully supported operating system for netbooks."


It's funny that they hardly mention Mono, which is controversial for good reasons. Here is another article:

Novell wants Meego to ship pre-installed on a variety of devices from OEMs within a year. SUSE Meego is based on the Meego specification defined by Intel and Nokia and is designed for next-generation netbooks and other mobile devices. It builds on the work done on the Intel's Moblin and Nokia's Maemo mobile operating systems.


How is the inclusion of Mono being arranged? MeeGo contains Banshee, which Microsoft explicitly excluded from the MCP. Novell is being used by Microsoft to hurt GNU/Linux projects, tainting them with Microsoft patent tax. Another familiar example would be Tuxera. Microsoft uses them (maybe like it uses Likewise) to inject problems and act as a barrier to entry through software patents, universally. Here is Tuxera's new press release:

Tuxera exFAT Now Available for Android and Linux



Tuxera, the leading designer of Windows-compatible file systems for Linux, Mac, and other platforms, today announced the release of Tuxera exFAT for Android and other Linux systems. Developed using technical documentation provided by Microsoft Corp., Tuxera exFAT provides outstanding performance and stability, and meets the latest SDXC memory card standards.


exFAT is a toxic patent trap (poison as a standard) that they hope to put inside Google's Android and inside GNU/Linux. And meanwhile, Microsoft is pushing hard using its market share on the desktop to spread exFAT everywhere.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

We Covered UEFI 'Secure Boot' Scandals. The World Listened.
To hell with UEFI 'secure boot'
Fake News With Fake Numbers About Microsoft
"This is what happens when the world's economy is governed by sick old men"
Slopwatch: "Google News" is Fast Becoming a Mashup of Slopfarms, Linux Journal ("LJ") is a Dump of LLM Slop
Well done, Google News. Google itself can flourish as a slopfarm mashup.
Torturing Users Who Just Want to Run GNU/Linux on Their Own PC
"Linux does not want to install"
European Authorities, Already Bribed and Infiltrated by Microsoft, Won't Help You Find BigBlueButton, Jami, Ring, and Jitsi
Because they're paid by Microsoft and are Microsoft 'addicts' themselves
Moving From Content Management Systems (CMSs) to Static Site Generators (SSGs) Saves You Time, Makes You a Lot More Productive
try to reduce the cost (financial and computational) of running your site
Leak: European Patent Office (EPO) is Now Attacking Amicale Clubs
corruption has become the norm and scientists are robbed of any dignity
Oracle Fraud (or Defrauding Shareholders)
"the obvious [lie] is that watts are (wasted) electricity [and] and FLOPS are computing capacity"
 
'Cancel Culture' by the Right: Microsoft Lunduke Contacts People's Employers Trying to Get Them Fired
Microsoft Lunduke panders to extremists online
"Bad Shim Signature"; So 'Secure' That It Overrides Users' Preferences and Turns Itself Back on (Coercive Measure)
This was a few hours ago
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 13, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 13, 2025
Microsoft is Rapidly Dropped From Web Servers, Shows Survey
Microsoft lost about 8% "market share" in just 3 months
Many GNU/Linux Users Report MOK (Machine Owner Key) Issues in Recent Days
many people don't report this online and never post in Reddit
Links 13/09/2025: Escalations in East Europe and POTUS’ Health Cover-Up
Links for the day
Gemini Links 13/09/2025: Lagrange Turns 5 and Lagrange 1.19.2 Released
Links for the day
Microsoft Inside Your Linux: "Security vulnerability that allowed an attacker to bypass UEFI Secure Boot."
2 hours ago
A New Low for "Linux Journal": Promoting MICROSOFT WINDOWS Using LLM Slop
They've just jumped the shark entirely
The Register MS Still Takes Money to Hype Up "AI" in Articles by Microsoft Resellers With the Term "AI" 30+ Times in Them
Notice how many times they mention "AI"
The Apache Logo News is VERY Old, Racists and 'Anti-Woke' Bigots Look for Something to Incite Other Bigots With
Nothing to see here, move along
Linux Mint 9/11: "4th One Today..." (in Reddit)
Remember that not everyone having an issue reports it to social control media like Reddit
Nepal Will Fall Without a Single Shot Fired, Thanks to Social Control Media
Or very few shots (by the authorities)
European Corruption in the European Patent Office (EPO) Targets Culture
"In reality, the project includes a new “legal instrument” shifting administrative burden and liability on EPO staff while creating new uncertainty and externalising Amicale activities."
UEFI Secure Boot Failing, as Expected for Nearly 15 Years Already (Techrights Said This Since 2012)
in the media
Debian 9/11
people report this issue
Gemini and Web Links 13/09/2025: MElon's Slop Grift and "Autonomous Trains"
Links for the day
Pursuing Peace Through Violence
You cannot "see" a person's mind, until the mouth opens
Can We Please Stop Celebrating Shooters?
"An important point to hammer on is that CoCs were never intended for uniform or symmetric application"
Geminispace is Growing Faster in 2025 Than It Did in 2024
What matters is that corporations haven't ruined it and LLM slop is extremely rare
Links 13/09/2025: China Punishes for 'Negative' Posts, US Police Unable to Find Shooter
Links for the day
Who's the Mystery Financier of SLAPP Against Techrights and Is That a Millionaire/Billionaire?
Whose idea was it to fund meritless lawsuits against my wife and I?
Slopwatch: Slow Slop Day
This distracts from or may take traffic away from the original articles, actually written by actual people
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 12, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 12, 2025
CoC Gone Wrong: Celebrating Murder OK, Complaining About the Celebration Gets You Banned
Hopefully the NixOS Foundation will have a word with (maybe replace) the moderator/s
Gemini Links 12/09/2025: Familiarity and Secondary Dominants
Links for the day
Explaining (in Length and Depth) the Damage Matthew Garrett Did to Linux and to GNU/Linux Users
no matter how many threats we receive
Links 12/09/2025: "Bad Reviews" as Extortion Weapon, "Free Speech At Risk in America’s Schools" According to ACLU
Links for the day
Only One Speaker Does Not Do Sharecropping for MElon (in X.com)
The man who puts principles before PR/optics
The Mind of the 'Hulk Hogan of UEFI'
in a nutshell
A Day After "UEFI 9/11": UEFI Secure Boot Bypass
In the news today (right now), as published in the past few hours
Links 12/09/2025: Slop Code as Liability, Microsoft Outlook Down for Many
Links for the day
It's Still Not to Late to Turn Off "Secure Boot"
If people reboot their PC or server today, and it relies on "Secure Boot" on Sept. 12 or later, then depending on the firmware there may be trouble ahead
Links 12/09/2025: Shira Perlmutter is Back, “Software Per Se” Patent Rejections in In re McFadden
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linux Plagiarism, Slopfarms Still Infesting Google News, Many Images Are Fake
Google is promoting plagiarism
"This Morning Might Turn Out to be an Interesting One for System Admins Who Haven't Updated Their Devices' Secure Boot Certificate" (If They Reboot)
Who asked for this anyway?
Gemini Links 12/09/2025: Metric System, Dumping Windows, and Software Architecture is Dead
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, September 11, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, September 11, 2025