According to Bruce Perens, one ought to expect SUSE to incorporate outdated packages or face some hard financial dilemmas.

"In the face of these [GPLv2 to GPLv3] changes, Novell will probably be stuck with old versions of the software, under old licenses, with Novell sustaining the entire cost and burden of maintaining that software," Perens wrote, adding that Novell faces a choice of sticking with Microsoft and being left behind, or turning its back on the patent deal.

Matt Asay goes further and mocks Novell's judgment.

Again, if Microsoft's patents are only worth $40M or so, and Novell's are worth $300M, then does anyone have anything to fear about Microsoft's patent rattling? If their value is comparatively worthless, why is anyone bothering to take them seriously (this assumes, of course, that someone is)?

This confirms what many people argued before. The sums appear nonsential, which leads to suspicion that the motives go beyond what meets the eye. Microsoft's legal department is nothing to sneeze at and, quite evidently, Novell has been fooled. It's time to escape the deal (to the extent possible) and save SUSE before it's too late.



The recent Open Letter/petition illustrates the fact that a lot of damage has already been done and continues to be done at present, primarily because the management is reluctant to admit its mistake. The intention of this site is not to religiously bash and damage Novell, but rather to knock it back into its senses, rather than let it be driven to a state of bankruptcy. Pressure might be the only path to remedy.