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Microsoft and Novell Open Interoperability Lab
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Wed Sep 12, 2007 01:04 PM
from the still-in-the-skeptic-camp dept.
from the still-in-the-skeptic-camp dept.
An anonymous reader writes to mention that the Microsoft and Novell Interoperability Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts opened today. The lab is supposed to allow both Novell and Microsoft developers to work together for better interoperability between SUSE and Windows Server. "Located in Cambridge, the 2,500-square-foot lab and workspace will be home to a combined team of the best and brightest Microsoft and Novell engineers focused on making Windows Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise work better together. The first priority for the lab team will be to ensure interoperability between Microsoft and Novell virtualization technologies. Additional work will include standards-based systems management, identity federation and compatibility of office document formats."
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Firehose:Microsoft and Novell Open Interoperability Lab by Anonymous Coward
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itsatrap? (Score:5, Insightful)
Having said that, Microsoft, like many gigantic corporations, has several "personalities" in the sense that different divisions may be operating on different guiding principles that don't necessarily mesh with each other. In this case, for instance, I'm willing to believe that the MS engineers joining this interoperability effort will genuinely do good work towards making MS products work with Linux in a smart and efficient way. So, I can see a lot of good coming out of this.
Yes, we should be wary of any attempt by MS higher-ups to subvert this process and use it to break interoperability (or to make Linux look "unfit for business" or whatever)... but to some extent I'm willing to give MS another chance here.
Re:itsatrap? (Score:5, Funny)
Of course it's a trap. Imagine you were walking along and you saw a bear trap on the ground, with a trip wire beside it leading to a gas canister. A cage is suspended over it by a rope, and there's a sentry gun mounted nearby. You might think, "this is a trap", unless you were a Novell executive, in which case you would step into the the apparatus try to find ways to "interoperate" with it.
Parent
Re:itsatrap? (Score:5, Insightful)
This lab is the result of the Microsoft-Novell FUD agreement.
And at 2500 square feet, I.E., a 50x50 foot room,
the techs don't have a lot of room to interoperate.
It's a farce to appease the EU.
Parent
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
the techs don't have a lot of room to interoperate.
No research needed (Score:3, Interesting)
It's actually not that difficult. Have most of your apps spit out strings of text in some documentable (or, ideally, document*ed) format and basically voila!
What's difficult is having interoperability without actually having it. In fact, I suspect they could research that until doomsday.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Not to be flippant, but wouldn't a "smart and efficient way" include a decision on the part of Microsoft to stop "not interoperating"? Seems to me that over the years they've actively and repeatedly pursued a course that was designed to maintain monopoly and thwart interoperability of any sort.
Then a
Re:itsatrap? (Score:4, Interesting)
Though I am stuck using MS at work, and at home (for a couple games I like to play that aren't available/playable on any other platform), and don't really mind using the products (because, in this case, they are the right tool for the job), I very much dislike the company (in the way it does business... I'm sure at least some of the people that work there are great people otherwise...)
Parent
Re:itsatrap? (Score:4, Insightful)
Microsoft has learned a lot about business from IBM in the past. Let's see if they can follow those footsteps going forward. I hope they do.
Parent
Awesome! (Score:5, Funny)
Ulterior motives? (Score:2, Informative)
Peer or puppet? (Score:5, Interesting)
If Suse has to make all the running it will be pretty obvious who is wearing the trousers (as we say).
Re:Peer or puppet? (Score:5, Insightful)
Parent
Not too much to worry about (Score:3, Insightful)
Mhmm! (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I suspect that they have learned the lesson from SOAP that having an interoperable standard does not necessarily decrease business. It increases it if the standard complexity is above a certain threshold.
So some of them have seen the light of more revenue on the horizon already. It is a matter of the rest of the company following suit.
Isn't it interesting... (Score:4, Funny)
Finally, standards compatibility! (Score:3, Funny)
We're at phase two already? (Score:4, Interesting)
Phase one - embrace. [linux-watch.com]
Phase two - extend. [slashdot.org]
Phase three - extinguish. [wikipedia.org]
Been good knowing you, Novell.
Who is running this? (Score:5, Funny)
Priorities (Score:5, Insightful)
That is definitely not the place I would start. First of all, I hardly think interoperability in virtualization is the most important, and secondly, as far as I know, we already _have_ interoperable virtualization.
Instead of virtualization, I would start with file formats and move to protocols from there.
Of course, neither of these would be issues if there were standards and both parties adhered to them.
brave company (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
I thought that was what Wine was for?
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
WINE actually provide a useful service that helps third party applications that were originally only developed for Windows to migrate to Linux. The project that does what you warn about is Mono, which encourages Linux developers to adopt proprietary Sue You Later frameworks without thinking about it. And Mono, co-incidentally enough, is the one with the close, close ties to Novell. I wouldn't touch SuSE with a 50m CAT5e cable, right now.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)