“The uproar in the open-source community caused by proprietary
poster-child Microsoft’s deal with Linux provider Novell shows no
sign of abating. For many, it’s a betrayal of the fundamental ethos
of free and open software–a pact with the devil. But even though
the arrangement is seen by some open-source enthusiasts as on par
with wartime collaboration with the enemy, in reality,
community-developed providers are only secondary targets.“In line with the old saying that the enemy of my enemy is my
friend, experts claim the deal is really about joining forces to
pursue Unix and the mainframe. If Novell can gain an edge on rival
Red Hat, the leading Linux distributor, then that’s all good for
Novell…”