Paul Maritz (VMB_ware CEO, formerly Microsoft)
Photo by Robert Scoble

Summary: Several Microsoft executives who run VMB_ware continue to work on projects which, along with Novell's projects help empower and spread Microsoft APIs

ACCORDING to this new article from IDG, VMB_ware and Novell are currently negotiating the price which VMB_ware will pay for SUSE (along with Mono and Moonlight based on some other reports). VMB_ware is run by executives who used to work for Microsoft and it may soon have power over Microsoft APIs inside GNU/Linux, including Gallium3D which appears to promote DirectX at OpenGL's expense.

IDG makes it sound as though the sale to VMB_ware is almost a done deal. To quote:

The Wall Street Journal is reporting rumors that VMware may buy Novell's SUSE Linux OS business, though Atachmate is competing for the est of the company's assets.

VMware and Novell have agreed on everything but price, according to the WSJ, which cites unnamed analysts as saying the tools built to help Linux administrators manage virtualized OSes will strengthen VMware's own VM management apps.

We are beginning to wonder what VMB_ware may plan to do with Microsoft-taxed SUSE, Mono, and Gallium3D. These assets can help VMB_ware help Microsoft. To quote a conversation from yesterday, there is evidence to suggest Mono is now linking/embedding some Gallium3D.

Very informal discussion ought to be assumed (it is an IRC discussion, thus nothing polished):

jimbo_	I read a week or 2 ago about VMB_Ware pushing DirectX	Oct 20 19:33
schestowitz	Any news on that?	Oct 20 19:34
schestowitz	gnufreex and Diablo-D3 raised the issue	Oct 20 19:34
jimbo_	you might find it interesting to note that Moonlie is using it	Oct 20 19:34
schestowitz	I just published the logs	Oct 20 19:34
jimbo_	the gallium3d thing	Oct 20 19:34
Diablo-D3	Im completely fine with it	Oct 20 19:34
jimbo_	so team appologista is also pushing it	Oct 20 19:35
Diablo-D3	the tracker is only for dx10/11, which is an almost carbon copy of gl3+future.	Oct 20 19:35
gnufreex	It looks like there is no patent danger. I checked. But there is still API control danger.	Oct 20 19:35
Diablo-D3	and, the tracker itself is almost a carbon copy of how you'd write a future-only gl3 tracker.	Oct 20 19:35
jimbo_	diablo3d just like .not is a clone of java? ;)	Oct 20 19:35
schestowitz	vmware gallium3d?	Oct 20 19:35
Diablo-D3	jimbo_: -D3, and yes, basically how c# copies java	Oct 20 19:35
Diablo-D3	jimbo_: except its c++ and LOOKs like d3d9, it just isnt	Oct 20 19:36
jimbo_	diablo: m$ has patents all over the place on .net	Oct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3	anyone trying d3d10/11 with a 9 mindset will write shit	Oct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3	sun has patents all over the place	Oct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3	also, this is an API	Oct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3	the patents being held will be held by companies like AMD and Nvidia	Oct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3	remember, gl and d3d both are high level wrappers for vendor-specific HALs	Oct 20 19:36
jimbo_	JoseX a while back wrote a very interesting piece about how you can patent APIs	Oct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3	they dont _do_ anything	Oct 20 19:36
schestowitz	APIs can have patent traps	Oct 20 19:36
Diablo-D3	schestowitz: not without having the patent invalidated	Oct 20 19:37
schestowitz	jimbo_: yes, beat me to it	Oct 20 19:37
jimbo_	schestowitz :)	Oct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3	like, I can write an API that uploads s3tc to a video card	Oct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3	they cant sue me	Oct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3	Im not decoding it	Oct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3	the video card is	Oct 20 19:37
gnufreex	Microsoft has one OpenGL patent they bought from failing SGI	Oct 20 19:37
gnufreex	Rest are expired.	Oct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3	gnufreex: except it applies to _running_ GL	Oct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3	as in, what happens on the video card	Oct 20 19:37
Diablo-D3	there is nothing being done usefully in software, for performance reasons	Oct 20 19:37
jimbo_	anyways, about to head out with friends	Oct 20 19:38
jimbo_	just thought I'd pass along the info about moonli and gallium3d	Oct 20 19:38
schestowitz	Diablo-D3: APis alone are not the infringement, but writing for them may be	Oct 20 19:38
jimbo_	moonlie	Oct 20 19:38
schestowitz	link/	Oct 20 19:38
schestowitz	?	Oct 20 19:38
schestowitz	SVN/GIT?	Oct 20 19:38
jimbo_	hold on, gotta re-search for it	Oct 20 19:38
Diablo-D3	schestowitz: but we're not writing for them	Oct 20 19:38
jimbo_	yea, it'll be in git in the configure.in	Oct 20 19:38
Diablo-D3	AMD and Nvidia and Intel did	Oct 20 19:39
schestowitz	Maybe VMB_ware will just buy Mono	Oct 20 19:39
Diablo-D3	remember, all this shit runs on the card	Oct 20 19:39
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[gotunandan/@gotunandan] RT @cassidyjames So, OS X Lion App Store = !Ubuntu Software Center, Mission Control = Gnome Shell, Multitouch Gestures = UTouch... what ...		Oct 20 19:39
jimbo_	http://github.com/mono/moon/blob/master/m4/gallium.m4	Oct 20 19:40
TechrightsBot-tr	Title: m4/gallium.m4 at master from mono's moon - GitHub .::. Size~: 38.95 KB	Oct 20 19:40
jimbo_	that's the gallium3d detection code	Oct 20 19:41
jimbo_	configure script code	Oct 20 19:41
jimbo_	http://github.com/mono/moon/blob/master/configure.ac	Oct 20 19:41
TechrightsBot-tr	Title: configure.ac at master from mono's moon - GitHub .::. Size~: 72.32 KB	Oct 20 19:41
jimbo_	that's their configure.ac which uses it	Oct 20 19:42
jimbo_	phoronix also talked about it	Oct 20 19:42
jimbo_	iirc	Oct 20 19:42
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[flameeyes/@flameeyes] Did #Canonical not trademark #Launchpad? Now we're going to get confusion between theirs and Apple's :/		Oct 20 19:42
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[tekk/@tekk] okay !rmsgnulinux, I know you've been waiting forever for 1.2.5 kde but right now I'm working in a kde 3.5.12(trinity) package for ya \o/		Oct 20 19:42
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[schestowitz/@schestowitz] Open source moves into the enterprise at NZ organisations http://ur1.ca/24rip Not just NZ, but this is NZ-based site		Oct 20 19:42
TechrightsBot-tr	Title: Open source moves into the enterprise at NZ organisations | Computerworld NZ .::. Size~: 44.47 KB	Oct 20 19:42
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[eff/@eff] Geotag, You're It! https://eff.org/r.2tv Android and iOS respect your geolocation settings. Check them!		Oct 20 19:44
TechrightsBot-tr	Title: Geotag, You're It! What Your Smartphone Might Be Saying Behind Your Back | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse .::. Size~: 26.49 KB	Oct 20 19:44
*scientes (~scientes@c-76-28-168-154.hsd1.wa.comcast.net) has joined #techrights		Oct 20 19:45
jimbo_	http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2010/Jan-07.html	Oct 20 19:47
TechrightsBot-tr	Title: Pixel Shaders for Moonlight - Miguel de Icaza .::. Size~: 14.13 KB	Oct 20 19:47
jimbo_	that shows they are indeed using it	Oct 20 19:47
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[tekk/@tekk] !rmsgnulinux if anyone doesn't know, trinity is the kde3 continuation project. Hopefully we may become a go-to distro for kde3 lovers =3		Oct 20 19:47
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[schestowitz/@schestowitz] #HP announces #Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 http://ur1.ca/24rl9 "1GHz Palm Pre 2, as well as a major WebOS 2.0 update" !llinux		Oct 20 19:47
TechrightsBot-tr	Title: HP announces Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 - News - Linux for Devices .::. Size~: 55.63 KB	Oct 20 19:47
jimbo_	vm_bware might be buying mono/moonlie as an injection vector	Oct 20 19:48
jimbo_	for gallium3d	Oct 20 19:48
jimbo_	piggyback on other patent trojans	Oct 20 19:48
jimbo_	you can probably find more info about this	Oct 20 19:49
jimbo_	this is only a start	Oct 20 19:49
jimbo_	but I find it highly suspect	Oct 20 19:49
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[nhi/@nhi] â™» @eff: Geotag, You're It! https://eff.org/r.2tv Android and iOS respect your geolocation settings. Check them!		Oct 20 19:49
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[nhi/@nhi] â™» @schestowitz: #HP announces #Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 http://ur1.ca/24rl9 "1GHz Palm Pre 2, as well as a major WebOS 2.0 update"		Oct 20 19:49
-TRIdentica/#techrights-[schestowitz/@schestowitz] Sheesh! When Will Folks Acknowledge GNU/Linux Has Arrived? http://ur1.ca/24rlo Linux dead? 2000 called, wants headline back...		Oct 20 19:49
TechrightsBot-tr	Title: Geotag, You're It! What Your Smartphone Might Be Saying Behind Your Back | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse .::. Size~: 26.47 KB	Oct 20 19:49
jimbo_	too much of a coincidence	Oct 20 19:49
TechrightsBot-tr	Title: HP announces Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 - News - Linux for Devices .::. Size~: 55.63 KB	Oct 20 19:49
TechrightsBot-tr	Title: ur1 Generator .::. Size~: 1.93 KB	Oct 20 19:49
jimbo_	good night	Oct 20 19:49
*jimbo_ has quit (Quit: Page closed)		Oct 20 19:50

Assuming there is intent to just promote Microsoft APIs, OpenSUSE ought to escape Novell/VMB_ware by forking and breaking away from Novell trademarks (VMB_ware has no real development communities). There is an OpenSUSE Conference (OSC) these days [1, 2], but apart from that, almost nothing is going on at OpenSUSE anymore. Andreas Jaeger has just announced a new release of OSB, but that's about it:

The openSUSE Build Service – OBS – is now officially at release 2.1. We’re delighted with the improvements in this release, including an enhanced web interface, integration with online code management systems and better access controls.

More here:

Tomorrow the openSUSE Conference is beginning in the always-wonderful Germany for a three-day event about the openSUSE project and free software in general with a variety of hacking sessions, birds of a feather sessions, and surely some Nürnberg beer along the way. Sadly due to some last minute scheduling changes and only getting back from San Diego yesterday, I on the behalf of Phoronix will not be in attendance at the German conference, but there is openSUSE news to report today: version 2.1 of the openSUSE Build Service has just been released.

In order for OpenSUSE to secure a GNU/Linux direction, its developers may have to get dissociated from Novell before it's sold to the Microsoft executives who run VMB_ware. It seems as though they are quite interested in the Mono part, which is Novell's crown jewel (in its own eyes at least). ⬆