The link in your blog has the best explanation of the Novell/MS agreement I have seen: http://www.novell.com/linux/microsoft/faq.html
Do you know if MS has a similar link on their page? I wonder what the view is from their side? >From what I can tell, all this means is that MS won't sue any SuSE Linux or its customers for patent issues and Novell won't sue MS or MS customers for patent issues. Didn't this come out around the time of the "SCO owns linux" debate, when a lot of details about the origination of "code" was coming out and being found. Didn't it come out that MS stole some Linux code? And maybe Linux stole some MS code or ideas? I think this was just a way for both companies to protect their interest and their customers. And to try to provide peace of mind to both their customers. Nothing more. bb On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 2:06 PM, Dustin Puryear <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > You do realize that IBM applies for and is granted more patents than > almost any other company in the world? Whether we like current patent > law or not, the law is the law. So I don't think that it makes sense to > put these companies into a pro- or anti-free side of the ring based on a > company's endorsement of patents, since they all use them, and some, > like IBM, use them quite a lot. > > This isn't to say that IBM isn't promoting a free culture (as I noted in > the blog), but we need to also know that IBM isn't exactly open in all > of its business and it, along with most for-profit companies, has an > agenda. That agenda is not about being nice. It's about making money. > > -- > Dustin Puryear > President and Sr. Consultant > Puryear Information Technology, LLC > 225-706-8414 x112 > http://www.puryear-it.com > > Author, "Best Practices for Managing Linux and UNIX Servers" > http://www.puryear-it.com/pubs/linux-unix-best-practices/ > > > willhill wrote: >> I saw this article today: >> >> http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2008/08/novell_aint_the_bad_guy.html?CMP=OTC-6YE827253101&ATT=Novell+Aint+the+Bad+Guy >> >> and have to say that I don't like what Novel is doing. Software patents are >> evil and Novel's endorsement of them is also evil. Any advantage Novel has >> gained by through their deal is odious. GPL3 negates those advantages and it >> will eventually take over all GPL'd work. >> >> IBM has not really endorsed the deal either. They have also partnered with >> Red Hat and Cononical which have both loudly refused M$'s money and patent >> trap. >> >> What's more important about IBM's announcement is willingness to push for a >> free world and the good chance they will get there. Just a few years ago, >> that kind of talk would get you branded a "radical" or "zealot" ... even in >> places like a LUG. IBM is doing a lot of good things for software freedom. >> >> _______________________________________________ >> General mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://mail.brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net >> >> -- >> This message was scanned by ESVA and is believed to be clean. >> Click here to report this message as spam. >> http://esva.puryear-it.com/cgi-bin/learn-msg.cgi?id= >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > General mailing list > [email protected] > http://mail.brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net > -- Have Mercy & Say Yeah _______________________________________________ General mailing list [email protected] http://mail.brlug.net/mailman/listinfo/general_brlug.net
