Microsoft contraataca

A comienzos del mes, Microsoft anunció que se unía a Novell en el desarrollo de la versión Linux SUSE. Para los que desconocen el tema, ésto equivale a mezclar agua con aceite, y los dimes y diretes, y las desavenencias legales parecen interminables.

Recomiendo visitar los blogs de Shuttleworth y Novell (dias 24 noviembre 2006 y posteriores) para tener una idea del resquebrajamiento que esta noticia ha tenido en el mundo que gira alrededor de la versión SUSE de Linux.

A continuación, algunos de los posts que me llamaron la atención:

Harald Müller-Ney Says:
November 24th, 2006 at 8:51 pm

Microsoft did the best deal ever!

They was able to split the community in parts. Instead of combining the forces people poaching others to switch the distribution they use, the distribution they develop with. I am intentional did not use the phrase “develop for”. We all work for open source, for Linux.

I expect it is human nature to go this path and Mark is not alone. I would call this path “follow Microsofts FUD”.

Combined forces of Fedora, openSUSE, Debian, Ubuntu, … and also RedHat and SUSE/Novell is what Microsoft feared, besides customers insisting on mixed environments.
Microsoft has done better than Julius Ceasar, instead of “divide and conquor” their tactic is “smash into pieces without fighting yourself”.

This a mixed environment is no problem for Microsoft, these pieces will never push them out of the door.

Harald

goetia d Says:
November 25th, 2006 at 2:40 am

I think Mr. Shuttleworth is brilliant.

Look, if Microsoft wanted to bring Windows and Linux together, why didn’t they do it when they partnered with Corel around six years ago? (if, indeed, it was a partnership, correct me if I’m wrong please) Does anyone remember Corel Linux? It, like Ubuntu, was a Debian based Linux distribution, with an easy to use graphical installer! And this was around six years ago! Anyone who wants to gain an enlightened perspective can google about Corel Linux and Microsoft and inform themselves. Here are a few important articles:

“”Corel Sells Out To Microsoft”"
http://www.forbes.com/2000/10/03/1003corel.html

“”Interview: Corel’s Linux VP on the Microsoft deal” @ CNN 10/16/2000″
http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TECH/computing/10/16/corel.linux.on.ms.idg/index.html

“Microsoft Faces New Antitrust Probe Over Corel Deal”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&contentId=A5576-2001Feb14&notFound=true

“Government lawyers want to know more about a deal in which Microsoft gave Corel, perhaps best known for its WordPerfect program, $135 million in exchange for 24 million shares of Corel stock last October.”"After the investment, Corel announced it would retreat from developing software designed to run on the Linux operating system, which competes with Microsoft’s Windows operating system.”

“Microsoft Litigation” List - Educate yourself
http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=2005010107100653

I ask you: Who do YOU trust?

Comment by iodine

Novell took a big step in the wrong direction in making a deal with the devil. Microsoft is an anti-innovation company that has done more to take away IP rights and basic technology freedoms from individuals than any company in history. That includes the MPAA, RIAA, etc.

Why Novell would want to work with such a company is difficult to understand. But we know the former Novell CEO was forced out to make room for someone who is obviously on Microsoft’s payroll.

Whether or not there remains a long term value proposition for Novell is questionable at best — with this deal, Novell cannot lay any claim to the “open enterprise”. It will be “Welcome to Novell’s Clouded and Colluded Enterprise” — “Warning, Patents Ahead. No Code Sharing Allowed”.

Novell’s deal with the Microsoft devil has illuminated the fact that there is one authentic leader in the Linux community — Red Hat. And Mark Shuttleworth’s letter further shows him to be a cancer of the Linux community — a greedy parasite. And just like Mark, his distro, Ubuntu, is the greedy parasite of the Linux distro world.

My note to Novell employees — many of whom have fought the long war with Microsoft — is to accept the fact that you have been betrayed. The heart and soul of Novell is dead. It is time for those of you who believed in what you were fighting for to find another place. I don’t know what the place is. But I do know from my own experience, that once you are betrayed by your own side, the sooner you leave the sooner you can get on with life. The sooner you can heal from the betrayal.

Meanwhile, I wish you all the best. The war is not over, and, ultimately, good will triumph over Microsoft and their evil allies. Take care of yourself and keep the faith.
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Posted on November 27, 2006 at 9:23 pm

Comment by David Miller

I am part of the group who have been using OpenSuSE for a long time now (actually before it was even OpenSuSE and was just plain SuSE). I have always found it to be a well thought out distribution. I have to admit that I had my moments of skepticism and doubt when Novell first purchased SuSE as to what direction they would go. Those fears were calmed when Novell kept producing a solid distribution. Then along came the deal with Microsoft. I realize Novell needed a cash infusion, but this deal is poison. It has put the work of hundreds of programmers under a cloud of doubt. Within hours of this deal we hear Steve Ballmer proclaiming that all Linux users are violating Microsoft’s IP. This may not be what Novell expected, but it is a well known fact (as stated by a Microsoft executive) that you can not trust Microsoft. Well, Novell went to bed with them and woke up with fleas. It was a poor choice for Novell, but that was their call.

So, what is left for people like me who have been using and advocating SuSE for a number of years? We pickup the pieces and move on. I will not be tearing SuSE off of the dozen or so servers that currently run it, but I will not be installing SuSE on any more machines. I will not be recommending SuSE to anyone either. That’s just how it goes.

However, the real question moving forward is for the projects such as Samba, OpenOffice.org, etc. If they continue to accept contributions from Novell developers they are really opening themselves up for trouble. How are these projects to assure that code contributions come from sources that have not been tainted with Microsoft IP? Sure, the SuSE developers and SuSE SLED users are indemnified against IP lawsuits, but the rest of the community is not. It seems to me that open source projects are going to have to be very cautious when accepting contributions from developers who are in any way associated with Novell to avoid even the appearance there code has been tainted with Microsoft IP. They will also have to be very leary of any assurances from Microsoft. As the man said “your mistake was trusting us.”
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Posted on November 28, 2006 at 10:44 am

El computador Negroponte

e-book Laptop

Encontré que Negroponte junto con Kofi Annan ya habían presentado para fines del año pasado un computador por $100 para los niños; que coincidencia, es el precio que propuse en un post hace algún tiempo para la educación chilena—falta la red wireless con cobertura nacional y los textos educativos virtuales.

Pero, aquí tienen una noticia interesante:

1. Libya and OLPC signed an MOU in which they agreed to work togethertowards the deployment of one OLPC laptop for every school-age child inLibya and contributing laptops to poor African nations. OLPC will provide the support needed by Libya to plan and carry out such a deployment. The signing took place during a visit by Nicholas, Walter Bender, and Khaled Hassounah, where they met with members of the newly formed OLPC4Libya steering committee. The committee was presented with the outline of a comprehensive plan to distribute the laptops, create connectivity and server infrastructure, and prepare teachers and students. Libya will send a team to the OLPC office in Cambridge to focus on software (Linux), infrastructure, and education content.

En otras palabras, un computador para cada niño en Libia… Parece increíble, y lamentablemente parece que lo es; quizás Libia pueda, pero Nigeria no, de acuerdo con este último post en OLPC News, este computador ya cuesta como $208 USD instalado (¿?), y son demasiados niños…

Igual insisto en mi propuesta, un computador para cada niño; siempre y cuando, el padre esté dispuesto a pagar el 20% de su precio. Y, para que no se les haga muy aburrido este post, éste es un video con una entrevista a Negroponte y otros, que me robé de OLPC News...


...Que sean los niños quienes hagan las conexiones.

Finalmente, un testimonio de Costa Rica tomado de Wiki.laptop.org:

Moreover, with mobile, connected laptops the walls of the classroom open and the entire community becomes the classroom and virtually the whole world enters on demand. The children carry the classrooms and teachers of the world with them through the community and into their homes. Children can participate in the study of global issues while simultaneously using local context for understanding. They can fully participate as producers of knowledge and not just as consumers of materials produced by others.

Prior 1-to-1 laptop experiences in other countries have demonstrated tremendous gains in learning, more time spent on schoolwork, development of technological fluency, and a stronger sense of inclusion among the students. While the majority of prior experiences have been in wealthier countries, the experience in a rural community of Costa Rica in 2006 exemplifies the potential.

Not only did the children go far beyond the usual curriculum, but also they learned to care for and repair their computers. The difference in how they treated and learned about their own laptops compared to the computers in the school lab was astonishing. The parents made covers to protect the laptops. The children learned to repair them so that they would not be deprived of their use. The parents entered into adult education in highly increased numbers. The teacher went from being dubious to a strong supporter after participating in the children’s gains.

The greatest testimony was that families moved to this community so that their children too could get laptops and the education they enabled. (See Claudia Urrea's wiki page for the CREATE project for more details.)

...Sin comentarios.