Open source advocates once again publicly criticised
Novell's agreement to collaborate with Microsoft at Novell's annual
Brainshare user conference last week in Utah.
The deal, signed in November 2006, means that Novell and
Microsoft will share and co-develop technology to make their
software interoperate better. The agreement also protects users
from being prosecuted for patent infringements.
HSBC said recently that it would be one of the first
beneficiaries of the collaboration, with both suppliers working to
optimise the bank's global IT system, which uses both Windows and
Linux applications. Wal-Mart has also confirmed that it will work
with Microsoft and Novell.
However, the Free Software Foundation, which represents open
source users, said that such deals would "spread and make a mockery
of the freedom of free software".
Richard Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation,
said that, by collaborating with Microsoft, Novell, a proponent of
open source software, was not allowing its users to use software
freely.
"Free software means software that respects users' essential
freedoms, including the freedom to change the software so it does
what you wish, the freedom to run the software, and the freedom to
redistribute copies. The denial of these freedoms is what makes
proprietary software unethical," he said.
Novell's president of EMEA, Volker Smid, said that Novell was
collaborating with Microsoft because customers wanted help to make
their systems interoperate better.
"We are part of the open source community, and we participate
and initiate a large number of open source projects. We are in
contact with the community, but we should take the customer's point
of view into perspective. The amount of large customers'
testimonies supports the move we have made," he said.
Microsoft and Novell sign agreement
HSBC bridges the Windows divide
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