Microsoft to buy out RedHat?

[Donkey Punch]

I was looking around Slashdot today and read an article regarding the rumor if MS will buy RedHat. Here is the article:

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/index.php?p=275

As David Berlind recently pointed out in his piece Is Microsoft considering acquisition of Red Hat? Microsoft could see Red Hat’s acquisition as a nice way to undermine IBM, but might not consider that a sufficient reason to do it. That, of course, is Microsoft’s perspective, but what about Red Hat’s? This is a company, remember, that wants to be Microsoft and, like Microsoft, makes its living packaging and selling other people’s ideas.

While this may be a good move businesswise, it may cause the open source community to **** a brick. While this reaction is inevitable no matter how you cut it on an acquisition such as this, I was wondering what the possible outcomes would be on a buyout such as this.

[The_Captain]

Let me start by saying rumors are rumors and should never be completely trusted. I do very strongly hope that this is just a rumor.

In the hypothetical instance of this happening we must remember that redhat provides only a service to the linux community. It does not offer the linux. I suspect if there was some kind of buyout most of the developers in the open source community would move away to another of the open-source GPL distributions and put their weight behind it.

Basically since the beginning of time you've had establishment and the movement against establishment. If Redhat goes down something, or someone else will take its place against the established giant Microsoft.

I think this would be a bad move on Microsoft's part especially because it buys out their only competitor in the home computer OS market and they will come really close to truly monopolizing the computer market.

[Donkey Punch]

It does not offer the linux.

You are right about that. RedHat is just another larger distribution using the kernel which belongs to Linus Torvalds and not RedHat. I am aware of the misconception that the distro includes the kernel. To take this one step further, this may include other software that may not want to be included in the distribution if bought out. While I am all for buyouts for the better of the industry and have never made it a big deal that MS was the evil people, it does pose some terrible cosequences to keep it moving forward.

The worst case scenerio I see is a consipracy theory nut one. MS could buy it and let it go into oblivion to erase some competition. I do not know the legalities on such a move, but this will put a serious damper on the company PR wise.

This all rumor based, and we shall see what happens. I am sure MS has bigger fish to fry right now, and with all the legal problems facing RedHat right now. I do not see it being a good move at the moment anyway. If there was a chance SCO would be winning, then why buy RedHat? Maybe it would be better to consider buying SCO instead?

That's a whole other rumor there.

[nihil]

Well, as I see it, the winner will be the first outfit to come up with a "secure" operating system.

Microsoft are by no means out of the woods with their antitust/monopoly problems, so to buy Red Hat would be foolish.

They are also having problems with Longhorn..............my guess is that they will go for it with Longhorn's successor.

Anyway, if they buy out a major Linux outfit, that would be interpreted as an endorsement for Linux, which I cannot see MS doing

They are quite patently stirring up SCO to cause unrest in the *nix camp, so such a move would be totally contradictory.

Could make life interesting in Europe though, as I cannot see our authorities endorsing such a merger.............that would give SuSE a clean shot?

Could be interesting.............particularly if IBM showed an interest in Red Hat?

[Donkey Punch]

It should. We shall wait and see. Again, it is all in the rumor mill, and wanted some feedback on a "what if" basis.

[Und3ertak3r]

Sounds like a tale started by IBM..

IBM wants its crown Back.. We dont like or trust Misrocoft.. you certainly wont want IBM .. We Dont want IBM being King again....

but then the rumor could have been started by MS themselves or a *Nix competitor.. to destabilise RH's business would you want to deal with a co that is courting or being courted by MS?

And for MS.. if they were.. they would need to change their business model to even start to consider useing Open source code...

as stated earlier.. a rumor is a rumor.. not fact or evidence..

[cypres]

rumor in business?
right.

[The Grunt]

Dell already owns RH IIRC... Dell seems to be making a decent profit from it... what would they gain from selling to M$?

[The_Captain]

Dell making a decent profit? I just read an article on it last week that said that Michael Dell put 100 million dollars in about a year ago and it is worth roughly 48 million all told right now... That sounds like a bum deal to me.

This article also put the RH net stock worth at 600 million. This means that Bill gates could wipe his ass with about oh, say.... 1.2 billion and buy it without even blinking.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7787642/

Also, if you own 1/6th of a company I guess you are an owner, but not any more than any other stockholder. You pretty much just get your votes like everyone else unless you control 51% or more.

[cacosapo]

. We Dont want IBM being King again....

we? speak for yourself. I miss that days, when i use to earn 10 times more money

Distributed systems are crap. wellcome back, green screens!