Microsoft and Novell

It's official, the world is doomed and there is nothing we can do to save it. Ok, thats a bit over the top, but the recently announced collaboration deal announced by Microsoft and Novell is nothing short of extremely surprising. Or is it? Think about it. Is Linux the biggest threat to Microsoft, or is it something else? When looking at the Microsoft Press Release one thing springs to mind immediately: it's all about virtualization OK, they threw "Document format compatibility" into the mix as well as well as support and interoptability, but thats really minor points. It's very apparent that this deal is made to put VMware under more pressure than Microsoft can do in their own. The fact that VMware is able to pressure Microsoft into striking a deal with Novell, and Xen, shows that VMWare is a serious threat to the future of Microsoft virtualization platform. It's also very interesting to note the following passage from the MS Novell FAQ

The patent agreement signed by Novell and Microsoft was designed with the principles and obligations of the GPL in mind. Under this agreement, customers of SUSE Linux Enterprise know they have patent protection from Microsoft in connection with their use of SUSE Linux Enterprise, further encouraging the adoption of Linux in the marketplace.

So much for GPL being cancer, Mr. Ballmer. If VMware scares you enough to sleep with the enemy, they must be doing something right.

Posted by Christian Mohn aka h0bbel