This just in from the LangaList: 9) Linux: Messier And Messier In http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-11-10.htm#5 <http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-11-10.htm> , we discussed how Novell was moving to acquire SUSE, a popular and well-respected Linux distribution. Now, there's this: SCO Seeks to Block Novell-SUSE Deal; SCO May Start Targeting BSD Unixes... SCO is planning to block Novell's acquisition of SUSE Linux on the grounds that it has a non-compete agreement with Novell dating back to its purchase of Unix. The SCO Group has announced it plans to take legal action to block Novell Inc.'s proposed purchase of SUSE Linux AG. The company claims that it has inherited a non-compete agreement, which was part of a broader agreement signed between Novell and one of SCO's ancestors, The Santa Cruz Operation Inc., when Novell sold Unix's intellectual property rights.... Full story: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,4149,1387528,00.asp What a mess. With this, plus the other Linux legal hassles (SCO has tossed several huge spanners into the works...), and the moves by RedHat to scale back its free offerings ( http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-11-06.htm#7 <http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-11-06.htm> ), it's not a happy time in the Linux community. It probably won't directly affect individual users much in the short term, although the long-term consequences could be major, depending on how SCO's suits go. And the legal mess totally clouds the picture for commercial users: They can no longer be certain that their version of Linux--- or even they themselves--- won't be found in violation of some other company's intellectual property rights. It's really too bad. One of the central attractions of Linux was that it was relatively unencumbered by legal folderol. I'd hate to see Linux sidelined by litigation; or re-absorbed into a completely conventional corporate product mix. Cross your fingers.
This sure smacks of more maneuverings on the part of Sweet Ole Bill (SOB), since M$ has money "invested" in SCO. I can't get to the eweek link due to our corporate fire wall here. I am sure that everyone saw earlier this week the article about Novell, using its hopefully soon to be acquired Suse Desktop Linux, securing a deal to replace the Window$ desktops with Suse Linux/Ximian on potentially upwards of 200 MILLION desktops. The article that I read on VNUNET commented "While Microsoft will no doubt play this down in public, expect serious boardroom discussion about what could be Redmond's biggest challenge ever." Looks to me like M$ is making their move. Ironically, when I tried to open a new message in Outlook to write this e-mail, Outlook immediately crashed. After restarting Outlook and attempting this e-mail a second time, Word crashed, but the 3rd time was a charm! Gotta love SOB. Ed Richards This email, including any attached files, may contain confidential and privileged information. Any review, use, distribution or disclosure of included information by unintended recipients is strictly prohibited. If you are not a named recipient or authorized to receive and / or act on information sent to a named recipient, or have reason to believe you are not or should not be one of the named recipients, please notify sender accordingly by reply email and delete all copies of this message prior to forwarding, copying or otherwise reproducing this message or attachments thereto. For information regarding the export control status of items discussed in this document, please refer to the project control list. Thank you.
