Even Microsoft Chooses Red Hat Over Novell's SUSE

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2008-11-17 15:07:38 UTC
Modified: 2008-11-17 15:11:03 UTC

Bad decision

AS we pointed out before, part of microsoft.com uses (or used) a Fedora spinner and quite a few Microsoft-owned Web sites go with the de facto server distribution which is Red Hat Enterprise Linux. The following post from Planète Béranger caught our attention because it shows a certain Microsoft preference for Red Hat. Microsoft is shy to admit this, but it's using a lot of GNU/Linux and Free software because it's better suited for the task. So why not SUSE?

But my final question arises from the initial choice of this Microsoft guy: "I chose to use Winbind on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL5) for my Linux-to-Active Directory integration project. RHEL5 is the current version of the commercial Red Hat Linux distribution, and it is fairly popular in enterprise datacenters."

Say, wasn't Novell the big friend of Microsoft, committed to interoperability and the like? Maybe its YaST configuration tools handle better the Active Directory authentication. Why wasn't SLED, SLES or openSUSE the primary choice of Gil Kirkpatrick?

It might be the case that licking Microsoft's asses doesn't pay, not even when your name is Novell.

Yesterday we wrote about the protest in Kerala. Here is an explanation of why Novell is to be avoided.

A free software activist and former student at CUSAT, Anivar Aravind was manhandled today (16/11/2008) by the “National free software conference organizers” @ CUSAT with assistance from the states police forces, for his peaceful protest against the “Novell Sponsorship”. The free software conference is backed by CPI(M), the ruling left party in Kerala.

[...]

Q2. What is the problem with NOVELL?

Novell doesn’t respect the free software philosophy and works against the interest of the community. In short we are against Novell because of the following.

1. Novell helps Microsoft more than it helps GNU/Linux. 2. Novell still insults competing GNU/Linux distributions and Sun’s Openoffice.org. (Read more) 3. Novell & Microsoft’s software patent agreement betrays rest of free software community, including the very people who wrote the Novell’s own system, for Novell’s sole financial profit. (Read more) 4. Novell helps Microsoft’s fight against Ajax, web standards, SVG by supporting Silverlight & implementing its GNU/Linux version. (Read more) 5. Novell supports Microsofts proprietary standard OOXML. 6. Novell is pushing Microsofts patents to GNU/Linux and cheating Free Software Community. 7. Novell is the biggest promoter of MONO in Free Software Development.

Except for the links from yesterday, this was also covered in:

Here is another important piece of information.

All hell broke lose when novell guys saw the 'Bycott Novell' handouts pasted right across their booth and said they won't pay up any sponsers money they owe to the event organisers. They took their ire by kicking out the activists and tearing up the posters.

So, as suresh pointed out yesterday, "Novell had threatened that they won’t give the sponsorship money when they saw the anti-Novell posters in the stall.So the blame on Novell is not totally out of place." ⬆

Comments

twitter

2008-11-17 16:04:47

According to the Swathanthra Malayalam Computing(SMC) statment this was all Novell's doing. Conference organizers kept Novell sponsorship secret from the participants and then called in the police when protesters showed up. It's funny to hear that Novell won't pay the bills now. Note to whores everywhere, get your money up front.
Mathew

2008-11-17 17:25:16

There is much lie in the whole way this issue has been briefed up. I am also a viewer of the entire scenario. The freedom activists has posted notorious novell posters in the Novell corp owned standing flex banner and obviously they complained to the organisers. This pro gramme has happened in CUSAT where already there is police force since the chief ministers visit was confirmed within 3 hours. The organizing committee asked the protesters to showcase the protest in their stall if they have where in they have told that they will repeat the same if the posters will be removed from novells property. Watch closely, in the picture you are seeing the security incharge of cusat, not the police. check the uniform . others in white dress is the private security forces deputed by university. Freedom activists should show the dispute not through muscle power. They can showcase such difference of opinions in many other ways. making a problem , more over the event is also not coordinated mainly by these guys . This is not justifiable. attacking the private properties and standing , talking for freedom is not acceptable. This is a problem planned by few who want to promote their name in an illegal route and this is damaging the values real freedom workers. Check with those who have directly saw the problems. Truth and the news is having much difference.

European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Czech Mate: EPO Kingmaker or Merely a Pawn in the Game?: recent "missions" of the EPO President
SLAPP Censorship - Part 131 Out of 200: A Big Win for the Media in the United Kingdom (UK) Today: In a democratic society the Right to Know, which is closely connected to freedom of the press (or what one might label "blogging" or "blag"), comes above all else, except where there are lives being put at risk
IBM's Fedora Plans to Integrate Slop Into "Fedora Workstation as a Default Feature.": IBM does not care whether the community wants this or not
The Media Talks a Lot About XBox Layoffs, a Closer Look at the Data Shows Microsoft 'Bloodbath': 'Bloodbath' is the term insiders use
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 07, 2026: IRC logs for Tuesday, July 07, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Microsoft Cuts Doom "id Software" and Turkey Detains Journalists: Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Old Computer Challenge (OCC) and Hardware Tests: Links for the day
A Break From the Routine: What matters is what whistleblowers keep feeding information to us
SLAPP Censorship - Part 132 Out of 200: When You Cannot Pay a Million Pounds (1,335,520.00 United States Dollar) to Lawyers But Have a Strong Community: Techrights compensates for its fiscal poverty with a wealth of community spirit
Fame is Not the Goal: "Fame" kills
Mental Health in Free Software Communities: clearly there is a subject that merits debate and it ought not be a taboo anymore
The Era of Sponsored Spam: There is no "era of AI", there is era of BRIBES to PRETEND there is an "era of AI"
Gemini Links 07/07/2026: Cleaning, Old Computer, and More: Links for the day
Links 07/07/2026: Le Monde Combats LLM Slop Plagiarism, "ACLU Launches Largest Ever Midterm Electoral Program": Links for the day
Extremism in the Free Software World is Mostly a Myth: Only the firm belief that justice applies to all will produce a just society
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 06, 2026: IRC logs for Monday, July 06, 2026
Links 07/07/2026: Kernelized Secure Operating System (KSOS) and "Exploiting Thoughtcrime in LLMs": Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 130 Out of 200: Jealousy, Envy, Hubris: This site is primarily about Free software
Gemini Links 06/07/2026: Still Mostly Dry, GoToSocial, and More: Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Effective Dispute Resolution… But Not For EPO Staff: Slovenia fielded one of the few Administrative Council delegations which managed to maintain its own independent line against the tyrannical EPOnian "Sun King"
Community Sites Need Genuine Collaboration and True Autonomy: People who want to communicate, federate and organise for effective change need to evolve
Free Software Foundation (FSF) Covers Quibble, Free Software for Secure Communications, in the FSF Summer Bulletin: The Georgia Tech folks are bringing Free software education and contributions to one of the better known Computer Science hubs in the US
Microsoft Layoffs Include Windows, Bing, Slop (CoPilot etc.) and There Will More More Rounds (or Waves) to Come: "43% of Xbox laid off"
Obscene Contradiction in Microsoft's Layoffs Tally ("Official" Numbers Do Not Add Up): Notice how they treat "LinkedIn" as separate
Preserving Comments About the Real IBM Before They Get Deleted: IBM in the 1980s is not what it is right now
Cybershow on "Escaping Prisons For Your Mind": "THE CYBER SHOW: Stealing technofascism's boots, and stomping on its own face with them."
Links 06/07/2026: At Least 20% Staff Reduction in XBox (Microsoft), Taiwan Sees Uptick in Chinese Aggression/Provocation, Senator Rodante Marcoleta Arrested: Links for the day
Confirmed: Microsoft Layoffs Come in Two Waves, Just Like Last Summer: To us, what stands out is the admission from Microsoft that there are two (or more) waves
In Praise of the UK's Stance on Free Speech (but Some Reservations): At the moment there is a healthy discussion going on with the objective of disrupting attacks on British press
Exposing Corruption at the European Patent Office (EPO), a Call for More Whistleblowers: We predict that, provided enough whistleblowers speak out, António "the unready" won't even finish his current term
Leaving Our Pets for Several Days: This week our pets will be worried that "mommy and daddy" are away
Dating Trees and Dating 'Apps': several high-profile stories in the news about scandals in "dating apps"
DW Documentary About Julian Assange Turns 2: It was released just days after Assange had turned 53 and about two weeks after he had left the UK
Independent Media is the Only Form of Legitimate Media: Independent media is, indeed, what we need to demand more of
The Story of the European Patent Office (EPO) Wagging the Dog (EU): The aim of the series is to properly inform the world - not just Europeans - how Europe's second-largest institution is run [...] How did a corporate hub of monopolies become so detached from the Rule of Law?
GNU/Linux Up to New High in Libya, Windows Down to All-Time Low: GNU/Linux touches 5% there, based on statCounter
Links 06/07/2026: Artists Reject Slop (or Even de Facto Bribes to Market/Endorse Slop): Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 129 Out of 200: Iranian Tactics: Hunger for revenge compels people to do overzealous, irrational things
Quiet Week: Many in the US are still enjoying an extended weekend
The Media Needs to Speak of Slop as a Climate Issue Like It Did With Bitcoin: But the slop industry keeps paying the media to play along with the hype
IBM's Fall: IBM's fate is closely connected to that of the Free software movement because of the salaries
Social Dialogue at the European Patent Office (EPO) is Dead, the Strikes and Work Stoppage-Like Actions Carry on: What next for the EPO?
Over at Tux Machines...: GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 05, 2026: IRC logs for Sunday, July 05, 2026
Links 05/07/2026: Shadows of the Upper Peninsula and 2026 Old Computer Challenge: Links for the day

Even Microsoft Chooses Red Hat Over Novell's SUSE

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts