Microsoft gets a portion of the money earned through GNU/Linux sales. In general, this is not news. Neither are the extortions. But have a look at this:

Playing with the numbers, SUSE sales without Microsoft had an invoice total of $11 million compared to the $29 million figure reported. The remainder of that sum is Microsoft.

To its credit, Novell has tried to diversify a bit by sealing SUSE Linux deals with SAP and Dell. Novell executives didn't provide details on those two deals. But it's unrealistic to think that either SAP or Dell can deliver the big numbers Microsoft can.

As a result, Microsoft is essentially SUSE Linux's biggest reseller.

That’s one helluva blind spot considering the GPLv3 risk that Novell laid out in its annual report. Perhaps, that's why 38 percent of the Microsoft deal’s value is completed already. With the GPL final looming Novell could be on the clock. Microsoft may also be on the clock as it rushes to sell SUSE Linux certificates before the new GPL.

As we mentioned before, this explains why Microsoft is in a great hurry trying to get these coupons done with.