Microsoft Gives in a Bit to Linux Users with Novell Partnership

From the "hell freezes over" department: ElectricNews.net, and many other tech news outlets, are reporting that "long-standing rivals Microsoft and Novell have come to an agreement to work together to facilitate customers who use both Windows and Linux operating systems." Specifically, the Vole is putting its weight behind Novell's Suse Linux distribution.

According to ElectricNews, the terms of the deal should also "ease the legal concerns of users of both platforms as it includes a patent covenant which means Microsoft agreed not to file patent-infringement charges against users of Novell's Suse Linux. Novell has also agreed not to sue users of Windows." Previously, numerous "legal concerns over potential patent infringement action have made some businesses wary of using open source platforms such as Linux, and this may have resulted in slower sales of these systems."

But with the Novell-Microsoft deal, the Redmond, WA software giant "will officially recommend Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise for customers who want to run both Windows and Linux." The deal between Novell and Microsoft "follows Oracle's announcement that it would start selling support for Red Hat's version of Linux - the most popular commercial version of the product, followed by Suse Linux."

Stuart Cohen, chief executive of the Open Source Development Laboratory (whih is an open-source promotion group), welcomed the move, saying that "We are glad to see these two companies collaborating to further diminish the legal threat posed to developers and customers by patent assertions. This is good for customer confidence in Linux, the open source community and the broader IT ecosystem"

Financial details of the deal remain undisclosed at the time of this writing, but "the agreement will see the two companies make payments to one another. Microsoft will pay Novell for a minimum of roughly 70,000 coupons that Microsoft corporate customers can convert into annual subscriptions to receive support for Suse Linux. The value of each of these coupons varies between roughly $400-$1,500 USD per year. There will also be a running royalty stemming from the patent covenant that Novell will pay to Microsoft. The agreements will be in force until at least 2012."

"Too often technology companies ask their customers to adapt to them. Today we are adapting to our customers," said Ron Hovsepian, president and chief executive of Novell. "Microsoft and Novell are enabling customers to take advantage of each other's products where it makes sense in their enterprise infrastructure. We jointly believe that our business and patent agreements make it possible to offer the highest level of interoperability."

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http://www.enn.ie/news.html?code=9841534