Novell has perused the most recent list of the top 500 supercomputers in the world, and nine of the top ten run on Linux. Not only that, but 85% of the entire list run Linux.
If you recall, Novell's former best friend for SUSE Linux was Microsoft. Microsoft and Novell have a partnership where the two parties had certificates that indemnified SUSE users from any intellectual property liability. In addition, Microsoft officially recommended SUSE Linux Enterprise for hybrid Windows/Linux shops.
“Our partnership with Microsoft continues to expand.”
–Ron Hovsepian, Novell CEO
Summary: The writings have been on the wall for 4 years, persistently warning that Novell was a ticking time bomb with its growing pile of software patents and growing relationship with Microsoft
NOVELL’S UNIX might still be up for sale, so Novell owning it
Summary: Microsoft et al. head for the door just shortly after OSI files a complaint to the German Federal Cartel Office
TECHRIGHTS wishes to begin with the good news. Those patents which Novell was going to hand over to Microsoft? Well, that ain’t gonna happen on the face of it.
When Novell first announced that it was being acquired by Attachmate for $2.2 billion, the question of who would retain ownership over Unix copyrights was an open issue. As part of the Novell sale, the company also revealed that it is selling 882 patents to a Microsoft-led technology consortium for $450 million.
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