The First Indication of Bad Things to Come?
Here is what looks to me like the first indication of Microsoft extortion for other Linux vendors besides Novell. Steve Ballmer is offering to help other Linux vendors reach patent agreements with them too, but to me it sounds like he is essentially saying Novell thought it necessary to protect its customers from patent lawsuits by Microsoft. That validates that we might have something to sue Linux companies and users over. Now all the other Linux vendors better get in line and sign up for “protection” too.
I admit that I don’t like Windows or the way Microsoft does business, and my views are slanted with my own experience working in a mixed network environment. I’m concerned about what this business agreement between Microsoft and Novell might do to the open source community, even though it will probably benefit our company overall, at least in the near term.
Can be.