05.08.07

Steinman on the Balcony Again, Offering Red Hat FUD

Posted in FUD, GNU/Linux, Marketing, Novell, Red Hat, Servers at 10:08 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Flattering one’s rival is commendable. It is not necessary however. At the very least, one should not refer to the rival, especially when representing a company. Personal opinions belong in Web logs, whereas journalists deliver what’s perceived as careful statements from an official spokesman.

If you can’t beat them, ridicule them…

I opine that Mr. Steinman keeps making the same mistake over and over again. Yet again he discredits Red Hat in an article which — on the face of it — lacks balance. Here is one among several ‘cheap shots’.

“They’re doing [Red Hat] something we’ve already done and they’re doing it slightly differently,” Justin Steinman, Novell’s director of product marketing for Linux, told internetnews.com about RHX. “I’d actually submit they are doing it in a channel unfriendly way.”

The article drips Red Hat vanity. The approach or attitude used here resembles that of Steve Ballmer and Larry Ellison, who thrive in a pattern of mocking the competition, even undercutting it. The latter point, you see, could even be attributed to Novell’s strategy.

If you can’t beat them, get them in trouble…

Red Hat, among other Linux distributors, came under fire immediately after Novell’s deal with Microsoft. Microsoft’s CEO issued some implicit-yet-obvious threats. Novell, on the other hand, only came under scrutiny and opposition, which conveniently it dismisses and ignores (see interview with Nat Friedman). In that regard, Novell undercuts the the Linux competition while in fact assisting Microsoft. Novell does this by diluting the market and introducing new legal threats. It has become evident that Novell holds no strings. Novell is simply the marionette on Microsoft’s stage. It is used as a weapon against its own goal, which is to spread GNU/Linux.

If you can’t beat them, be kind to them instead…

Returning to Mr. Steinman, let’s kindly ask him to refrain from making fun of Red Hat. His new partner (Microsoft) is also his biggest rival. If Novell wants market share, then it should escape this conflict of interests and stop Linux ‘cannibalism’. Red Hat should be its friend, not its enemy. The vendors will be stronger as a team. I stressed this in the opensuse mailing lists back in November 2006. A thank-you from Red Hat staff ensued, but I was still on Novell’s ‘side’ (community) at the time.

If you made a mistake, apologise…

Recently, Steinman said that Red Hat copies from Novell and that Red Hat does not contribute much to Linux. Where has that come from? Red Hat has been there forever. In Steinman’s defence, he apologised, retracted, or blamed journalists for misinterpretation. But the envy lives on. This only leads to unfruitful flame wars. Why can’t Novell make peace with Red Hat rather than defend their new partner, which has a long history of stabbing them time and time again in the back?

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Dell/Novell Approach Ignites Skpeticism and Backlash

Posted in Deals, Dell, Intellectual Monopoly, Novell, Patents, Servers at 9:11 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

This outcome was probably inevitable, if not outright predictable as well. We would like to present a couple of stories which represent a common sentiment. Some people are unhappy with Dell’s implicit endorsement of the Novell/Microsoft deal, wherein it is acknowledged that Linux embodies Microsoft IP.

The first article comes from Computer Business Review Online. These chaps have consistently bothered to ask customers about IP concerns. This one piece is no exception. More interesting, however, is a side story from the article:

Shortly after yesterday’s announcement from Dell, a posting appeared on its IdeaStorm suggestion box web site, entitled “Don’t imply Microsoft IP in Linux”.

“I would like Dell to make an official statement that they do not believe there is any Microsoft intellectual property in any of the distributions of Linux they offer,” the poster, mhall119, wrote.

It was receiving about 100 votes per hour during the day yesterday. Dell’s Lord said he had not read the suggestion and declined to comment on it.

The second little tidbit come from a column which is aptly titled “The empire strikes back”.

Notice that Dell wasn’t exactly prominent in the announcement of the deal – most of the talking was done by Microsoft, in itself a reminder that whether you are a big player or not in the tech industry, you had better do as the boys in Redmond say. No getting too much out of line.

Just a couple of months back, Dell was involved in what many saw as some kind of lovefest with the Linux community, claiming it was trying to gauge what the public really wants. It’s one of those touchy-feely marketing BS exercises.

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