I’m sure many of the CEO’s and CTO’s of various Linux companies are now asking themselves this very question this week (or should be asking themselves) as Microsoft announced yet another “patent deal”…this time, with LG Electronics.

With this, the Xandros deal, the Novell Deal, and anything else Microsoft has up its sleeve (I look for several other distros to “indemnify” themselves in the next few months…for example, Linspire and Mandriva are two prime targets for MS…the bullseye is probably painted) I think that Microsoft has created it’s own “Linux Distribution” so to speak. Let me share with you why I think they have…

The New Distro is Microsoft

These companies are now paying Microsoft. Sure, Microsoft is paying them as well…but the kicker is this: These companies are paying Microsoft for Linux.

Oh, but ask the CEO who made the deal if they think Linux infringes patents and they’ll say “No way! We don’t think Linux violates any patents…we’re just paying in case Microsoft tries to sue us”. Well, let’s put this into perspective shall we?

If I was a store owner in Anycity, USA and paid the mob to not rob my store blind…you know, not because they were robbing it…but just in case. Does that mean that I’m not part of the money that the mob uses to do their dirty deeds? Does that make the cash I’m sending back to them clean? Should my conscience be clear?

Now, I’m not saying Microsoft is the mob…I’m just using that as an example. But they do have a good racket going on here. They get many highly publicized deals where Linux appears to be ‘giving in’ to Microsoft. Microsoft looks to be reasonable with these deals as well saying “hey, we won’t sue you…see, we’re the good guys”. The bottom line is though that Microsoft has no claims on Linux at all…if they did, they would have revealed it already. The reason they don’t reveal anything is because they don’t have anything to reveal. It’s all talk and no walk.

What about the Community?

These companies forgot one thing…the power is with the consumer. The power is in the community. Ubuntu realizes that…they’ve embraced the community and look what’s happened! The community holds the power to make or break…the power of spoken word cannot be underestimated. These companies have either forgotten that or don’t care. My guess is that they don’t care…they worry about making money and not about the tread marks they’re leaving up the back of the community. The community isn’t part of their formula even though it should be the common denominator.

The open source business model hasn’t been around for very long and many are still learning about it. The one no-no that these companies have completely ignored is that they have alienated their own PR system; their own word of mouth. In the end, they didn’t look at what it could cost them to do this deal or they didn’t care. One thing is certain by looking at many examples in the last 20 years…the community doesn’t forget.

MS Now Makes Money from Linux

Microsoft has carved a niche way for itself to make money off of Linux. Are you one of those that are paying Microsoft to use Linux? Are you helping them establish an umbrella Linux distribution made up of all the Linux distros signing up to be a part of their ‘protection’? If so, congratulations on buying your new Microsoft Linux. Have fun over there with Novell, Xandros, LG, and whoever else believes the vaporous and non existing threats from a callow company trying to keep itself meaningful. For myself, my family, my friends, and my distribution…we shall never pay any company that brokers this patent protection deal with Microsoft…you can take that to the bank.

UPDATE 06-14-2007

Looks like I was right! Linspire has also signed a patent racket er…protection agreement with Microsoft. Up next, the other two big hitters in Linux…Mandriva and Ubuntu. 1 down, three to go Microsoft.

The New Linux Distro originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on June 14, 2007.

I was immediately reprimanded and given detention. When I asked what I did, the response was “apparently nothing but you’re going to stay after anyway”. When I pressed harder for an explanation, I was told that since I thought ‘my two buddies’ were funny, I was staying after. I had been caught in a perplexing situation many people, groups and companies find themselves in…I was guilty by association.

I was reading an article at Linux Today earlier and saw this line from the article, which was penned in defense of Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols (and rightly so…I have no idea why people would call SJVN a shill…he’s the farthest thing from it). I’m not so much concerned with people attacking SJVN so much as I am with the editor’s (it’s an editor’s note) second item that he’s bugged by:

So…people shouldn’t do this. We all know that it isn’t fair…but the main fact is they are doing this and have always done this, just like that teacher of mine in high school. I wanted to understand why people aren’t making the connection that openSuse shouldn’t be held accountable for Novell’s actions…but then it hit me…The technology and code being sunk into openSuse as a test ground will one day make it into the Novell Desktop…which, as part of the now famous deal, will make money for Microsoft.

When you look at it in this logical manner, I don’t blame the people the article is condemning for targeting openSuse and I don’t see how anyone can blame them. How many Linux users out there do you know that want to bankroll Microsoft?

It’s how businesses operate. Most CEO’s in today’s society make decisions and lead their company…perhaps an approving board jumps in to give a vote of confidence…but overall, the common employee or programmer isn’t consulted on directions that a platform is going. It’s like this for just about every company I’ve ever worked for…the ‘small guy’ isn’t heard.

The problem with the Novell MS deal is that the small guy is a community of small guys…it’s almost like a union…more powerful in the group than alone. Novell didn’t consider what this deal would do to their community and they didn’t care…there were no channels of communication opened up…there were no private polling of resources within the community…nothing. The deal was brokered and done. But they forgot the community. They forgot that this is Open Source…it’s not business. Open Source isn’t about business and never will be. Open Source Software like Linux is about making a better product because you can, not because someone is paying you to do it. Linux doesn’t make decisions based on any revenue models or forecast loss charts. It is its own entity that bows to no one and serves no business, person, or entity in any greater capacity than any other business, person, or entity.

Novell forgot the community…and in turn, due to their lack of communication on the matter, now have to reap what they sow. Unfortunately, openSuse is not immune to the fallout.

Going further on in the article we see:

Let me be honest…I love openSuse and the desktop they’ve built. It’s professional looking, polished, and has a solid feel about it that is fantastic. But I won’t use it ever again. I don’t want any bug report that I make to go into squashing bugs that will eventually end up in a Novell Desktop that is part of any payment of any kind to Microsoft. So now I find myself floating away from openSuse altogether. I think the developers for openSuse are probably exactly what this article is saying…and if they’re smart, they’ll see past the trees to see the forest that is money to Microsoft…and they’ll do something about it sooner than later.

“But I don’t think it’s necessary or worthy to malign the coders participating in openSUSE, nor the results of their hard work.”

I agree we shouldn’t malign the coders…but the results of their work are fair game. Let’s say you’re completely anti-war and you hate all violent actions that some country has taken. You voice your opinion loudly and with vigor…now do you go and malign the mechanic that works down at the bomb manufacturing plan? Nope…he/she is doing their job and probably has a family to support. Do you malign the company that he/she is working for? Maybe a little bit, maybe a lot. Do you malign the IDEA that making bombs is about? YES.

Perhaps bomb making is a poor example…and for that I apologize. Hopefully, you get the gist of what I’m saying. IMHO, The works and the idea behind the works are fair game…they’re products that are part of monetary gain (eventual) for Microsoft. So perhaps we shouldn’t point fingers at the developers and coders…but we definitely can point them at what they’re developing and shout to the top of our lungs “Do you know what your product is being used for!?!?!” and we can also shout to the top of our lungs at the idea that the entire Novell/Microsoft deal encompasses. Can we hold Novell responsible? You bet we can. Can we hold openSuse responsible? It shouldn’t be that way but it is…so, yep.

Back in that classroom, I stayed after for detention. I didn’t whine or complain…nor did I feel it was wrong for my instructor to put me there…after all, I did laugh when I shouldn’t have…so I was guilty by association and I served my ‘time’ as it were right alongside them. The bottom line to all of this is that openSuse code may one day make it into the Novell Desktop which will give cash money to Microsoft. Do I want any part of that? Nope. If some people want to yell at others who don’t see this correlation to try and wake them up, so be it. When Novell neglected to get a pulse from their community, they allowed that community to be associated with their decision…they made openSuse guilty by association. Wrong, sad, and totally irresponsible all at the same time. Maybe some detention time will be good for Novell as well.

Guilty by Association originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on January 7, 2007.

1. Nothing
2. Buy Novell

I read some interesting thoughts on the ‘deal’ and even some speculation that Red Hat might have to approach Microsoft to seek indemnification in a similar fashion as Novell did this past week. I think that this is reaching a bit. Red Hat already has indemnification built into their license. Red Hat is comfortable right now posting huge numbers and enjoying the success it deserves. Why it would want to bring itself to Microsoft’s doorstep is beyond me. I see Red Hat doing absolutely nothing about this…business as usual.

But what if Red Hat bought Novell? THAT would be something unexpected…and it would be a major thorn in Microsoft’s side because they’d have to honor their ‘covenant’ with SuSe Linux. Well, ok, they don’t have to honor it…but if they want to look like a good company they would.

Think about it…Sun was actually considering buying Novell not long ago…or there was speculation they were. Oracle has looked at buying Novell. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Red Hat swoop in and buy Novell?

Think about it…SuSe is the #2 player for Commercial Linux. What would Microsoft do? They wouldn’t play tiddly-winks with #2 now would they? Nope. They’d snap up that company and move forward churning profits. I think Red Hat buying Novell would be a Novel idea (pun intended).

What would we think of Red Hat if it snatched up SuSe? I’d say we’d probably champion Red Hat for pulling a fast one on Microsoft. And I highly doubt after acquiring Novell that Red Hat would worry about indemnification from Microsoft. Why? Because then there will be 2-3 major players with vested interests in Linux…IBM and Red Hat. IBM + Red Hat = Don’t mess with us Microsoft. I think things would work out quite nicely after this.

It sure is fun to speculate isn’t it?

What if Red Hat Bought Novell? originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on November 8, 2006.

If you live under a rock and haven’t heard of the Novell Microsoft ‘deal’ then please read about it then come back to find out how Novell is the new SCO. And by the way, how is it that Novell places the link above in the ‘coolsolutions’ section of its website under ‘tips’? That’s reaching quite a bit. I wouldn’t consider this a coolsolution at all..

So how is Novell the new SCO? First and foremost, I’m not the first one to talk about the correlation between this deal and SCO’s indemnification licenses…Groklaw has detailed postings on it. Let’s look at this concept a bit more. This deal between Microsoft and Novell isn’t about getting Linux to play nice with Windows…it’s about patents, intellectual property, and indemnification licenses. All your patents are belong to Microsoft…well, maybe they don’t…but believe me, Microsoft would like them to. The language of the agreement puts you right in the mindset that Novell is selling indemnification licenses to their customers just like SCO. Look closely at #2 on this article, then tell me I’m crazy.

Thus, I now dub Novell “Sir ScoVell”, champion of allowing Microsoft to make bogus profits and also making bogus profits yourself while painting a target on all other distros and spreading FUD in the community. As groklaw reported many years ago, SCO sold those same licenses to its customers to make money for itself. What’s in this for ScoVell? Where are their interests? One can be sure that the community is not where they are storing those interests. One thing is sure; they’re going to make money on those licenses just like SCO did.

Microsoft isn’t a company one hears about when discussing trust. Just a few years ago circa 2001, Microsoft said Linux was a cancer. Have they changed that much since then? No they haven’t. What has changed is the world around them. They realize that it isn’t cool to say things like “Linux is Cancer” or “Linux is Communism” anymore because too many of their customers use Linux now. Saying this would alienate them from their own customers. They had to do something to show that they were part of the solution and not part of the problem. Enter ScoVell Deal.

ScoVell has waltzed into a tangled, proprietary, close source environment…one they can profit from and one they can pay Microsoft to be a member of as well. They’re in this muddy mix and are trying to drag the GPL along with them.

Imagine for a minute that Microsoft Windows is a club. You look at the outside of the club and it looks pretty cool…afterall, everyone is lining up to get inside and there is a doorman at the front who controls who gets in and who doesn’t. The doorman let’s Novell inside the club and quickly closes the gate again.

What should have happened? Novell should have called for Microsoft to take the club OUTSIDE and include everyone. There are licenses that protect Microsoft’s proprietary pieces and intellectual property yet still allows them to share things. Novell had a unique position in the Linux world having converted their entire business to that side of things. They had begun to post good numbers. Instead of embracing the community and championing for that community…they have entered the club and left the community out in the cold.

It’s kind of like having a group of kids (Linux) hanging out at a playground when a bully (Microsoft) comes up and wants to beat up whoever used HIS swingset. ScoVell is safe. They and the bully have an understanding. But the other kids don’t have this understanding…and the bully is free to wail on them. That means ANY other Linux players out there…IBM…Red Hat…Oracle…whoever…are now included in this group of kids along with any small distro developer from Anywheresville. Of course, for a fee, anyone can have an understanding with the bully right? So, it most likely won’t be long before Microsoft and ScoVell start selling “protection” to others.

Microsoft has already begun to threaten as well. Just look at the second paragraph of this eweek article…if that doesn’t sound like a “you better do this because you never can tell who we’re going to sue” threat, I don’t know what is. How many small developers is ScoVell ready to sacrifice and step on on its way to fill its pockets with Microsoft License gold?

If you haven’t read Free Software Magazine’s piece on this merger of interests, you are missing out terribly. It’s one of the most well written pieces I’ve seen on this subject. I specifically like the part about how ScoVell and Microsoft dance around the GPL section 7 (paragraph 6). ScoVell is set to become a redistributor of Microsoft Licenses. If you have it on your desktop…think about that…will you buy the license when it becomes available? Will you buy it when it becomes a requirement? If you make packages for SuSe, will you continue to develop for them while they become fat by selling licenses on your work?

It isn’t even clear if ScoVell has the legal ability to do what it says it is going to do in this deal with Microsoft. If Microsoft and ScoVell try to push this deal, they’ll be in violation of sections 4 and 7 of the GPL. Bruce Perens sums this up quite nicely in his article: “Novell has clearly accepted that [GPL] license. But it appears that they are now out to make patent protection a business differentiator. Even if everyone were to be protected regarding software that Novell distributes, there’s the tremendous collection of Free Software that they don’t distribute. A logical next move for Microsoft could be to crack down on “unlicensed Linux”, and “unlicensed Free Software”, now that it can tell the courts that there is a Microsoft-licensed path.” Linux beware? Most likely not. Most of the code in SuSe Linux is code that can be found in the very same distro you’re viewing this webpage in…and that is protected by the same GPL Microsoft and ScoVell seem intent on testing.

The real problem that ScoVell is now going to face is that of their community. They’ve given the appearance of selling out by becoming that which the community truly hates…and perception is as perception does. They can’t go back and say just kidding now. They are a leg on the FOSS body and they hacked themselves off at the thigh with this move. They can’t grow another body at the bloody stump….and they’ll slowly die without constant blood flow from the rest of the FOSS body. Perhaps Red Hat is correct in its statement that ScoVell will not be a player for Linux in another year. One thing is certain…if you turn your back on the community, they’ll turn their back on you.

Should ScoVell attempt to un-muddy itself from all of these opinions and facts, it is guilty at the very least of spreading FUD about Linux…why? Because now Microsoft can use its threats linked above to bully Linux and users/companies into license agreements. It spreads that fear, uncertainty, and doubt and ScoVell sits in the wings watching it do so and quietly congratulates itself for not being one of the bullied. So thanks for turning the dogs loose ScoVell. Pat yourselves on the back, because we won’t.

I for one, will not use ScoVell products, nor the SuSe Linux distribution, on any computer I own or operate. Nor will I stump for them as I have in the past. They have officially been erased from 13 hard drives that I control. If you are a supporter of Free and Open Source Software and a firm believer in what the GPL stands for and accomplishes, you might want to re-examine how you feel about this subject and perhaps do the same.

Maybe you don’t buy all of this stuff. Maybe you think, just like Novell is thinking, that this will all blow over. It’s just an emotional, knee-jerk reaction to the agreement/deal and it will die off in time. If that’s the case, you would do well to remember that Microsoft’s position on this agreement is that “Open Source commercial offerings have to move to more restrictive measures in order to increase the value of their offerings” Right. Closed is better because we said so and invented the concept.

In closing, this deal doesn’t mean a lot for the small developer right now. When will it? Only time will tell if there will be any ramifications for joe developer. Even if Microsoft and its new buddy decide not to sue the many small distro developers out there we shouldn’t applaud this deal…because, let’s face it, it is about making money on the backs of those around you (selling indemnification licenses) and tromping all over the spirit of Open Source and the GPL. I don’t think its a good deal at all and I am NOT excited about it.

Novell is Now the New SCO originally appeared on Yet Another Linux Blog on November 6, 2006.