"In the U.S. elections this week, a change of power took place in the Congress that had an almost instantaneous effect at the White House. Just a few days before, President Bush said of a potential Democratic takeover of Congress: 'The terrorists win and America loses.' This week his line has changed to 'reconciliation' and 'bipartisan effort.' That's the way it is with dogma, which is heartfelt right up to the moment when it is no longer felt at all. That might be the best way, too, to understand Microsoft's recent deal with Novell and apparent embracing of Linux.
"There was a time--right up to a week ago--when Microsoft appeared to feel, from the statements of Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer, that they could ridicule Linux out of corporate America or use a campaign of fear uncertainty and doubt (FUD) to undermine the open source operating system. There was nothing good about Linux, they said, and a lot that was bad. They even argued that paying Microsoft for Windows was less expensive than getting Linux for free. Yeah, right..."
