"Linux is different, you see. Open source, as Microsoft is
starting to recognize, is just another part of its ecosystem, one
that it must support if it wants Windows to continue to be a
first-class computing citizen.
"Linux, however, is competition; Microsoft's top competition, if
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's words are to be taken at face value.
Linux is war.
"In this context, Microsoft's recent patent deal with Brother
makes sense. Otherwise, as ZDNet opines, it's a deal that causes
much head-scratching:
