November 28, 2006
Microsoft to Promote Linux
Microsoft has spent the last decade trying to kill Linux from the market because of they were afraid of the competition. However, Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO), announced that they have made a deal with Novell to start promoting Linux. This was one of the biggest shocks to tech folks around because of how much Microsoft was against Linux in the past. Ballmer once called Linux “a form of intellectual-property cancer. While he has since dialed back the rhetoric, the subtext remains in nearly all Microsoft discussions of Linux: Use it, and you run the risk that Microsoft will sue you.” I do not know why Microsoft has to be so harsh with the situation but over time, things will cool down and the shock factor will sink in. I think Forbes.com was correct when they stated: “This is stunning. This is like Red Sox fans announcing they’re going to root for the Yankees.”
One of the biggest complaints that many people have had with Microsoft is that they were so against Linux that it made it hard for them to run Windows as an Operating System. Apple had the right idea to base the Operating System back end on Unix. That is one reason why MAC’s and Linux are so stable.
Microsoft spent $250 Million on the deal with Novell to make one of the largest software purchases ever. I think that this deal will be an amazing change for Novell and for Microsoft. I think that if they can work out all of the kinks of the deal, they will have the opportunity to take away the Linux market from Red Hat. Even though I think Red Hat is awesome, I don’t think that a monopoly on any product or service is right. Competition is the backbone of this country and it would be nice to see that with Linux.
