What Do Microsoft Patent Deal Mean for Linux UMPCs? Nothing.
A recent iTWire article suggests that when Xandros’s patent deal with Microsoft runs out in 2011, Microsoft will attempt to use their patent FUD to stop Linux’s adoption on UMPCs.
Quite a while ago, a number of companies, including Novell, Xandros, and many others, signed patent deals with Microsoft. These deals supposedly protect the company in question and its customers from being sued by Microsoft, which Microsoft claims they can do because Linux supposedly violates many of their patents. Largely due to Microsoft not revealing what those patents are, other companies, such as Red Hat, refused to sign patent deals. At the time, companies that did sign patent deals were viewed very poorly by the Linux community, since they were simply submitting to Microsoft FUD. Gradually, however, this issue has become less of a focal point and there is a lot less coverage of it.
In 2011, though, as pointed out by the iTWire article, this issue is likely to resurface, since Xandros’s patent deal will expire. Since the Linux used on the Eee PC will no longer be “protected,” the article also suggests that Microsoft will use this FUD opportunity to try to harm Linux on UMPCs. They may try, but I don’t think they will succeed.
As I see it, when the patent deal issue resurfaces, there will, of course, be a huge uproar from the Linux community and lots of pressure for companies not to sign the deals. In this situation, one of two things will probably happen:
- Microsoft will give up trying to push their FUD around patents onto companies.
- Some more patent deals will be signed or renewed and everything will move on again.
Though the later may not be preferable, neither option would seriously hurt Linux’s chances on UMPCs or Linux’s chances in general.
June 9th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
>this issue has become less of a focal point and there is a lot less >coverage of it.
Dont confuse one with the other.
Less coverage, yes but people who were pissed of then havent forgotten.
Xandros and Linspire were never a real choice anyways and not using SUSE has proven to be very easy.
You are pretty cavalier about ‘que sera, sera’ with number two.
The Novell deal resulted in GPLv3 so to say you are flippant is an understatement.
The only reason we were able to move on is people did something about it while others like Red Hat,etc said no to extortion deals.
A deal which creates a ‘clean’ version of Linux and another that supposedly isnt, IS NOT what I expect from the companies that participate in Linux. I have no problems with Linux distros fighting it out since all advancements will benefit us all but to insinuate the FUD that the 3 bastard distros did should NOT be forgotten.
“Dont do anything folks, it will all pass soon” is called whistling by the graveyard. Torvalds does a lot of it since he is above it all. Thank god the movement doesnt expect leadership from him outside his expertise in the kernel.