FSF to Ban Novell Linux Sales? Not Exactly
Reuters
came out this week with rather a splashy story saying that the Free
Software Foundation is considering, as some sort of retribution for the
big deal with Microsoft, banning Novell from selling its Linux distribution.
Apparently, though, the FSF
can't, and wouldn't, really do that.
One might suspect, too, that Microsoft's deep pockets and pretty
good (everything considered) track record in the legal system might win
the day over the open source zealots if push came to shove.
Meanwhile, one
commentator says that Bill Gates will have to step in for Steve Ballmer
and quiet the continuing row between Microsoft and the open source community.
We're not so sure that the open source community wields quite as
much clout as it thinks it does (as Microsoft has, after all, been concentrating
on getting some new OS out the door lately, which might explain its relative
silence on open source issues), but it's an interesting perspective,
anyway. And we're all about an exchange of ideas here.
Posted by Lee Pender on February 06, 2007