Microsoft Teams With Linux Distributor

[HardOCP News]

Microsoft and Linux distributor Xandros announced a collaboration (both legal and technical) between the two companies today. The agreement will supposedly make it easier for Xandros customers to run Microsoft software.

Over the next five years, the two companies said, they will work on improving interoperability between their servers to improve systems management. The pact calls for Microsoft to provide patent covenants for Xandros customers that ensure they are not infringing on Microsoft's intellectual property, according to the companies.

 

[Mohonri]

This sounds a lot like the Microsoft-Novell deal. It will be interesting to see if the F/OSS community jump on Xandros as hard as they did on Novell for making this sort of agreement.

 

[Ockie]

I wonder if this is not to get around the EU Nazis?

 

[DocFaustus]

This is not to get around the EU.

This is to bleed income from a product that they do not own nor have rights to. This has been coined "reverse patent trolling". Microsoft knows in the end Linux will ultimately win out as the OS of choice, so the more hooks they can put in now, the better they will be in the future. They also know that the patents they hold are not with the paper they are printed on in court or if disclosed.

An interesting side effect is they are trying to use this deal to promote OOXML and beat ODF.

GPL v3 will be revised again to help deal with this.

 

[DocFaustus]

Here is a great article outlining what microsoft is doing: http://www.digitalmajority.org/forum/t-10689/yes-microsoft-is-the-threat

(This article I originally found in Groklaw's news picks)

 

[pxc]

Now I have 2 Linux distros to choose from.