"It's not too bad if it's SUSE Linux, as long as it's a Linux"

That's just what we hear quite often, but various people beg to differ. Allowing Novell to get its way is making the 'pen of sheep' prophecy [1, 2] a harsh reality, from which one cannot escape. It's a one-way street for a variety of reasons that are yet to be realised in the future.

The latest story comes from France and it's written in French.

Tous les étudiants de la prestigieuse école d'informatique Supinfo seront certifiés sur Suse Linux Enterprise dans les 5 prochaines années

A rough English translation: "All [10,000] students in the prestigious School of Information Supinfo will be certified to use SLED for the next 5 years."

”Doesn't the patent 'protection' of Novell run out in 4 years?“There seems to be a long-term (and unnecessary) commitment here. Doesn't the patent 'protection' of Novell run out in 4 years? Novell has never commented publicly on this issue, has it?

France's choice of GNU/Linux distributions is an interesting subject in its own right. For example, they should have chosen Mandriva and supported their own local businesses, but instead, the cabinet chose Ubuntu (yes, they are all moving to Linux). Other news of interest from France:

• 173 000 French students and 40 000 teachers to get Firefox on a USB key
• French Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Choose Mandriva
• France pins hopes of growth on open-source software
• Free Ubuntu laptops for French students
• French consumer protectionists are demanding PCs without preinstalled software
• French consumer group attacks PC software bundling

Whatever France decides to choose, it need to be aware that SUSE/Novell should essentially be seen as a Microsoft subsidiary. Novell passes Linux 'tax' to Microsoft and Novell also spread FUD along with Microsoft. That FUD is directed and used against other Linux distributions, which are free. That's how Novell markets itself.

Who knows what is being said to those who evaluate their options... I've heard stories, but I am not allowed to share them in public (yet). Let's just say that Novell and Microsoft work closely to ensure that free Linux does not win.

Related articles:

Clubbing baby Linux penguins

So when Microsoft says it respects other people's intellectual property, what everyone is thinking is, That's not true. Microsoft doesn't respect the GPL, and that's other people's property. Microsoft is just trying to kill off a competitor. Again.

Even Sys-con even got it right this time, or at least the headline: Microsoft Spits in GPL Creator Richard Stallman's Eye.

Alan Cox Interview

[Alax Cox:] Personally I think it's a bad idea and that Novell are going to get stung by the GPLv3, and rightfully so. The license is designed to keep the software free, if it fails to do this then it needs fixing, so GPLv3 hopefully will fix this flaw.