Didn't take them long :D

[nihil]

HT~

I strongly object to #(b).........................like I thinkthat my wife has used all mine as floor cleaning rags by now

Also, back then, it was UNIX and you either went with Berkley or with a commercial distribution?

That was my introduction to *nix..................Torvalds Linux was nowhere on the scene at the time.

What goes around comes around; I think the saying is?

What I see now, is commercial Linux distros....................not a bad idea IMHO, now please excuse me whilst I go play "Easy Rider" on my black and white TV

[IKnowNot]

nihil
Being this is Thanksgiving on this side of the pond, I'll go put in Babes in Toyland ( aka March of the Wooden Soldiers ) .... a kind of tradition from when I was growing up before we grew into the generation of tie-dyed shirts ( if I can find it ... I think one of my kids appropriated it. )

HT ... I think what you see and what you perceive may be correct, but you may be putting it in the wrong context. Yes, there are a lot of ‘kids' using Linux and complaining about things like MP3 players, but they use Linux more because they want to be known as rebellious or elite, not because it serves a specific purpose. There are the purists which I won't go into at this time, and there are others.

It also needs access to MS patents to make it more "user friendly" or "user functional".... This agreement could do that... I believe that companies like RedHat are hurting Linux by not going into this agreement...

I haven't seen this at all. What has kept Linux ( and any *nix ) from the corporate desktop environment is functionally and interoperability: specifically in the areas of word processing, spreadsheets, etc. ( discounting completely the web-browser issues and suits that hopefully remain in the past. ) This is where Microsoft has really excelled for the consumer, and locked out others. And people do not want to learn one manufacturer's program for the office, then have to learn another's for the home: people are generally lazy and not that tech savvy. People want at home the same thing they are used to at the office, and visa-versa.

I have always preferred Word Perfect ( since Dos days ) for its ease of use and have over the years had several licensed versions, but even it has problems when attempting to modify or even open documents created with a Microsoft product. Linux never had, until recently, anything that could even come close to even Word Perfect. OpenOffice, although not quite there yet, is looking as though it will shortly be able to compete head-to-head with anything Microsoft can put out.

So what happens to Microsoft when corporations have a true choice between not only the OS, but the basic productive software that most rely on? If the company that one works for changes to OpenOffice because all they have to pay for is the support fees ( if they desire ) and not licensing fees, where do you think all the employees will eventually go for a home program? On my laptop I have chosen to use OpenOffice with both Linux and XP rather then use the supplied Microsoft Works or pay to upgrade to Microsoft Word.

And if a company can then use Linux to supply the same functionally as Windows at a reduced cost, what OS do you think they will go to?

I see this Microsoft/Novell deal as an attempt on the part of Microsoft to steer the direction of corporate users with regards to the use of Linux to their best interest ( knowing that the use of Linux is inevitable by many ) and the part of Novell to expand its user base: mutually beneficial but both with different goals.

[Ka0h]

http://www.out-law.com/page-7494

That just frustrates me. Bah

[nihil]

Well, I think that it is perfectly understandable. MS and Novell have to work together, and all this does is effectively absolve SuSE from possible copyright litigation, whilst leaving the other distros in the frame.

They cannot turn round and say "Well you let SuSE do it" because SuSE have a formal legal agreement to do so.

That is business for you.

[thread_killer]

I must be the only one who sees the MS / Novell deal as a good thing... The problem is the Linux community...

Go to any Con these days... you don't see PCs running Linux... You see more and more Macs... The Linux Community, while still strongly supported, is losing some of the "big names" to OS X... The reason is that Linux is not a feasible desktop operating system in a business environment.. It needs a lot of work... It also needs access to MS patents to make it more "user friendly" or "user functional".... This agreement could do that... I believe that companies like RedHat are hurting Linux by not going into this agreement...

Sure the "kids" that are members of the Linux community (Yes, I run Linux too.. but most of the community is nothing more than kids.... certain members of this site make that more than evident) are getting pissed off and going on and on about it... In the end MS and Novell will come to terms and hammer out the details and this will benefit everyone..

Everyone got pissed when RedHat and Novell removed MP3 playback from Linux... the truth is that Linux does a) Infringe many patents c) Directly (and often illegally) bypass licensing... Those are two things that hurt it from every becoming a viable big business Desktop solution... Sure it's great in the server market... but those reasons, coupled with others, hurt it on the Desktop Front...

I'm interested in seeing how this proceeds because I'm still of the belief that it's a good thing and the right thing..

Peace,
HT

I've been a linux user for years and you know what? I've got three (count 'em) OS X boxes in this house and am getting ready to purchase a fourth (a mini) to attach full time to my home theatre system rather than keep attaching and unattaching the mac book.

OS X really is the *nix desktop that works better than all others. For years I've been complaining that Linux isn't ready for the desktop and the reclaiming of marketshare (albeit small and slow) by Apple is demonstrating that the working alternative for the average and even above average (in terms of technical competency) user is OS X and not even the big distros are ready for the desktop. Yeah, OS X is highly tweaked BSD, but that was the tweaking that was needed for most people in order for it to be practical.

Additionally, as an occassional (mostly in my distant past) NetWare engineer and still big proponent of NetWare for Print and File sharing, as well as email, I also think that the MS/Novel merger is probably going to be a pretty good thing.