Hi, jtd wrote: > M$ and RH have signed a deal of some sort. > > http://www.redhat.com/promo/svvp/ > > Saving grace is that there are no weasel words as yet.
As a (critical and reluctant) RH admirer for some time now, let me offer the other POV. What RH has done is sign an agreement with M$ to provide validation and support to M$ OSes when they are run within a VM on RHEL ...and M$ has has agreed to do the same for RHEL running withing their VM solution. That is *all* there is to it. The emphasis on _all_ because, this deal does not include any ^patent-protection^ clause or any exchange of 'protection money', as was with the case of the M$-Novell deal. Although, i personally do think that any sort of deal with M$ /feels/ kinda /dirty/. The fact is that this agreement is not significantly different than any of the other existing agreements RH has made for it's RHEL/JBoss products with other companies [1] (including quite a few proprietary ones). Only the fact that the company in question is M$, is what makes it headline friendly. All in all, my take on the whole thing is: a. This is validation that M$ has finally come to terms with the fact that it cannot continue being monopolistic and ignore interoperability (especially with linux). That tactic might have worked in the good 'ol, screw-the-user-lets-sell-crap-and-make-lotsa-money days, but it is no longer sustainable. b. Red Hat has grown up (/is growing up) and accepting the fact that *its* customers also use M$ and it has to learn to live and survive in that playing field. c. Red Hat has not compromised on it's core values, although it is shook hands with the axis of evil. More intelligent and comprehensive analysis of this agreement here: http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=2009021611190551 http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10164907-16.html http://port25.technet.com/archive/2009/02/11/microsoft-red-hat-to-offer-joint-technical-support.aspx cheers, - steve []] http://www.redhat.com/partners/ -- Linux Centric Marketplace: http://www.tuxcompatible.com -- http://mm.glug-bom.org/mailman/listinfo/linuxers
