I reread this release twice, and learned nothing. Granted, perhaps not everyone has been as engrossed in this deal as we have here, but this provides nothing new and nothing specific.
REDMOND, Wash., and WALTHAM, Mass., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) today unveiled more details about their joint technical roadmap and the benefits customers can expect from the collaboration. Microsoft and Novell are engaged in joint development on four areas of technology that address significant problems faced by enterprise customers today: virtualization, Web services for managing physical and virtual servers, directory and identity interoperability, and document format compatibility.
“With this first installment of the Microsoft-Novell development roadmap, we see that both companies are building on this relationship to develop real, product-specific solutions to deliver on the promises made to customers,” said Al Gillen, research vice president, System Software, for IDC. “The great potential of the November announcement between Microsoft and Novell could have been disappointing without a product-specific roadmap to execute against. With the roadmap, the technology benefits customers can expect will be tangible and delivered on a predictable basis.”
Afterwards, the release basically lists each of the technical aspects of the deal that we have heard about repeatedly in the past few months: Virtualization, Web Services-Based Management, Directory and Identity Interoperability, Document Format Compatibility and a quick blurb for each promising some non-specific products and translators to be released "throughout 2007".
This deal with Corel may also be similar to Microsoft’s deal with Sun Microsystems. It’s a purely strategic one, where the strategy does not necessarily benefit the customers, let alone the developers.
…The companies said that Corel would develop and market applications for Microsoft’s sprawling .Net initiative, which is based on Windows technologies.
While the investment is paltry by Microsoft standards, the implications are huge. For starters, what becomes of Corel’s Linux plans? Corel has poured considerable resources into its Corel Linux operating system and porting its business and graphics applications to Linux. The company has positioned its Linux efforts as the linchpin of its comeback strategy, but there was no mention of Linux on the conference call Monday.
[...]
Microsoft and Corel have been fierce competitors since the latter bought the WordPerfect Office suite of applications from Novell in 1997.
Also worth reading is the interview with Corel’s Linux VP on the deal with Microsoft. Given Corel’s position at present, Novell has plenty of reasons to worry. Let us return to the recent interview which explains why Microsoft was willing to pay Novell so much money.
LinuxWorld: One of the persistent rumors that’s going around is that certain large IT customers have already been paying Microsoft for patent licensing to cover their use of Linux, Samba and other free software projects. And the Novell deal — isn’t it just taking that and doing the same kind of thing wholesale?
Allison: Yes, that’s true, actually. I mean I have had people come up to me and essentially off the record admit that they had been threatened by Microsoft and had got patent cross license and had essentially taken out a license for Microsoft patents on the free software that they were using, which they then cannot redistribute. I think that would be the restriction. I would have to look quite carefully. So, essentially that’s not allowed. But they’re not telling anyone about it. They’re completely doing it off the record.
The problem with the Novell deal is — Novell gave Microsoft what Microsoft dearly wanted, which is a public admission that they think that Linux violates the Microsoft patent.
[...]
LinuxWorld: Watching Novell management being subjected to this was like watching a child eating a bug for money. It’s embarrassing.
Allison: It is humiliating. I was horrified to say. It was humiliating. Yes. It really is like, “Go on. Eat a bug. Go on. Go on. Here’s some money. Eat a bug.” Yes, sad but true.
This analogy is a wonderful one, especially if you happen have watched Fear Factor. Novell made a decision which it knew was a bad one. Short-term financial gains were enough to alleviate the fear and it left the audience (Microsoft in this case) highly entertained.
Novell today announced its Desktop-to-Data Center Management Blueprint, based on ITIL services and built on open standards.
The management blueprint is the next step in Novell’s commitment to offer the industry’s most comprehensive
cross-platform management solutions. The blue
The product — which the company calls its “Open Client Offering” — pulls together software IBM has developed in-house and with partners Novell Inc. and Red Hat Inc. to answer questions over the cost-effectiveness of managing Linux or Apple desktop PCs alongside Windows PCs.
Novell and Intel plan to announce Monday software that improves the performance of Windows running atop the Xen virtualization software.
[brace yourselves for the mandatory delivery of FUD…]
In addition, Novell plans to announce that through its patent and technology partnership with Microsoft, rival Microsoft will provide joint technical support for customers running Windows Server 2003 R3 atop a platform of Xen from SLES.
“Patent”, eh? A couple of days ago we mentioned Jeremy Allison’s most recent interview. A Slashdot reader has dug a little deeper and came up with some interesting quotes:
“Yes, that’s true, actually. I mean I have had people come up to me and essentially off the record admit that they had been threatened by Microsoft and had got patent cross license and had essentially taken out a license for Microsoft patents on the free software that they were using [...] But they’re not telling anyone about it. They’re completely doing it off the record.”
This illustrates that Novell’s deal plays a role. It frightens Linux customers.
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