More on THAT DEAL
Coverage of the Microsoft-Novell deal has moved on from the stunned headlines which greeted the breaking news to more worldly analysis. The hundreds of stories have two major themes: money, and the future of Red Hat. Comment suggesting wholesome motives like innovation and customer service, or attention to the EU’s concerns is beginning to seem a bit passe, however august the source!
US regulatory requirements have brought financial aspects of the deal out into the open. There is general agreement that Microsoft will be paying Novell some hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few year; there is disagreement about whether this is a lot of money or not much.
Differing views on the intentions of the now-partners can be found here and here and here. A somewhat defensive press release by Novell can be found here.
Some analysis sees the deal exacerbating the free v. open wrangle. Patents and licencing are mentioned in many posts but, so far, not much analysis of the implications.
Outside its own posts, there is little comfort for Red Hat to be found. It is seen as “badly outgunned” or, more colourfully, as “the Poland of the software vendors”.