parrot journalism

Story: Novell counters community, Microsoft FUDTotal Replies: 3
Author Content
incinerator

Nov 21, 2006
8:04 AM EDT
"Some open-source figures have defended Novell's move, but for the most part the open-source community has rejected the move as being potentially very harmful to Linux."

No, Steven. The community has said many things. They have accused Novell of selling out, they have said the whole agreement is not more than hot air. No-one has said this could be "very harmful to GNU/Linux". Except clueless journalists to lazy to do proper research, of course.

Fact is, the who agreement doesn't actually change the situation much. Microsoft spins FUD, implicitly or explicitly alleges that certain code in Free Software infringes on some of ms' patents/copyright/whatnot. However, unless ms actually starts suing someone, the situation will be the same as it was before.

Now, why do you write then this could be "potentially very harmful to Linux." Who said that? Can you actually give a quote or did you just make that up?

Fact is, that open letter has shown some things to us: 1. Novell doesn't have a clue. They want to cooperate with ms for the sake of interoperability, but instead sign a deal about patents. d'oh. 2. Novell can talk all they want but when the big bully comes along they just squirm and fall in line just like all the others before. Howsiepants said it himself that Novell did not originally want this patent-crapola in the deal but they did anyway because ms "asked" them to. yeah, right. lol 3. Novell gets money and pays money for some protection that doesn't exist but they think is a big selling point for their products. I think the market will beg to differ and we'll see that soon enough. 4. Novell can't get their strategy straight. They strenuously object to ms' fud about Free Software infringing on ms intellectual rights but sign an agreement effectively bowing down to and acknowledging these claims. 5. And now they want to tell us that's not what it is and we're all unfair and wrong and he'll tell his mommy.

"Will this be enough to calm the waters? Perhaps not, but if nothing else, Novell has made it clear that it is not going to stand quietly by while Microsoft makes vague intellectual property claims about Linux."

No, it wont. Novell is a sellout and even if the deal between them and ms will be of no consequence whatsoever it has given stupid parrot journalists another high-profile opportunity to help spread ms' FUD. Novell is a sissie, because they have bucked down to ms' FUD and RedHat hasn't. By signing that deal Novell has NOT "made it clear that it is not going to stand [by] quietly [..]", on the contrary. Stupid open letters begging the community to adopt their convoluted view of reality won't help.

Sjvn quotes almost the complete open letter and he does link to a lot of former linux-watch articles. However, he fails to provide a link to open letter itself. Doesn't he want his readers to educate themselves?
dinotrac

Nov 21, 2006
8:19 AM EDT
Incinerator -

Talk about clueless, you seem to take the cake.

1. Novell has not bowed down and admitted to anything. They have extracted, at minimum, $300 million net dollars from Microsoft. if that's bowing and scraping, I want to do some of that.

2. Novell has a substantial IP portfolio of its own and businesses beyond Suse. It's business has been suffering and better interoperability will help them.

3. They have misread the community, though. That's for sure.
Rascalson

Nov 21, 2006
9:16 AM EDT
Dino:

1. What I have always suspected about you. Nuff said.

2. And why would anyone on Linux buy their products separate from a platform they will soon not have the ability to distribute. You think they tried to get into Linux because their business on the windows platform was booming? Hang on I think I have a bridge laying around here I can sell you cheap. It even comes with a patent agreement whereby I promise not to sue any people that happen to use your bridge for the next ten minutes but only if they pay you a toll to use the bridge, which by the way I'll take a little cut of up front thank you. After the deal expires though those users are on their own and I may sue. Of course I may rescind the agreement at any time anyways.

3. I get it, your secret identity is Captain Obvious. They appear to have misread the GPL also if Eben Moglen's recent statements regarding "Peaceful Negotiations" are any indication. What are the chances that other copyright holders are taking that to mean there is a problem and looking into sending nice C&D related letters to Novell?
rijelkentaurus

Nov 21, 2006
10:10 AM EDT
>Talk about clueless, you seem to take the cake.

>I get it, your secret identity is Captain Obvious.

Play nice!

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