Microsofts Next Linux Partner Is …?

Published: Jun 15, 2007
Updated: Feb 2, 2021
2 minute read
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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Believe it or not, on my way to the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit at the Googolplex here this week, I realized that I knew at least one more Linux distributor would form a partnership with Microsoft, and that the most likely one was Linspire. Why?

Did you read my piece on Linux company reactions to Microsofts Xandros deal?

I started thinking about how nice Linspire CEO Kevin Carmony was in his comments about Xandros. Carmony said, “I can understand why they approached Microsoft to work with them and entered into the agreement.” And, “As long as no one is pointing a gun at anyones head to buy or not buy something, I have no problem with it. Its just another choice people should be free to make.”

So what, you say? Compare Carmonys recent reaction to the Xandros deal to what he had to say about Novell getting buddy-buddy with Microsoft last November. Then, he hated the deal.

“Since investing in SCO, Microsoft has wanted to find ways to use third parties to thwart open source and Linux,” Carmony said. “They would love to point their IP [intellectual property] guns directly at Linux and blow it out of the water, but that would appear too heavy-handed, so they need to have one willing partner to set a price and precedence on that IP. They found that partner with Novell.”

His attitude certainly has changed since then, wouldnt you say?

So, whos next?

/zimages/5/28571.gifRead the full story on Linux-Watch.com: Microsofts Next Linux Partner Is …?

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

I'm editor-at-large for Ziff Davis Enterprise. That's a fancy title that means I write about whatever topic strikes my fancy or needs written about across the Ziff Davis Enterprise family of publications. You'll find most of my stories in Linux-Watch, DesktopLinux and eWEEK. Prior to becoming a technology journalist, I worked at NASA and the Department of Defense on numerous major technological projects.

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