Novell Makes Linux Driver Project a Reality 200
apokryphos writes "Novell have relaunched the Linux Driver Project by dedicating well-known kernel developer Greg KH to work on the project full-time. Greg KH writes:
'My employer, Novell, has modified my position to now allow me to work full time on this project. Namely getting more new Linux kernel drivers written, for free, for any company that so desires. And to help manage all of the developers and project managers who want to help out...They really care about helping make Linux support as many devices as possible, with fully open-source drivers.'"
Good to hear - as long as they stay clean.. (Score:5, Interesting)
As drivers are pretty much kernel level activities I would like to see assurances that such development is clean and cannot be used to manufacture truth behind the nebulous IP infringement claims which have stopped in countries where you can't make such statements without having to prove it (which says IMHO a lot in itself).
So, IMHO the news deserves a welcome with caution..
Success Stories? (Score:4, Interesting)
Also it would be nice to get a list going of which hardware I should look forward to.
Re:Does that mean we can nominate any device? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Good to hear - as long as they stay clean.. (Score:5, Interesting)
But this is what your management has done to your brand. Congratulations.
Timing (Score:4, Interesting)
Heck, even when people "downgrade" (upgrade?) to XP, I've heard there can be missing or broken driver issues with some new hardware. Companies figured they would only write Vista drivers for certain new parts.
Linux has made many advances in "average Joe" usability. Combine that with hardware compatibility so good that Linux "works out of the box" BETTER than windows, and Windows starts to look a lot less like it's worth all that money. This could be huge for "mainstream" users.
Here's hoping that the next computer my Grandmother gets is windows free.
Novell always supports opensource (Score:5, Interesting)
So it isn't much a news at all. Anyway, gratz Greg. ^_^
Re:Ths bit sounds fishy... (Score:1, Interesting)
This is a very good thing, but I expect the real benefits will be on server hardware, not consumer devices.
Re:Timing (Score:3, Interesting)
Instead, we, well, I think I should say some people, decided to create a FUD Fest with Novell in order to give MS all the ammo they needed to say, "do you really want to goto some as unstable as that?" "They are attacking their own kind just because we tried to make it easier to use their stuff". And of course a lot of potential switchers said hell no give another round of shit Mr Gates.
It would be nice if we could sweep that stuff under the rug and act like it never happened. But I have a feeling that we will need to wait until MS starts forcing people out of XP by either deactivating it or refusing to activate it after a reload. For now, I think we have scared too many people who would actually look at it away. And for all those who wouldn't know about the MS-FSF-Novell FUD campaigns, they wouldn't be switching anyways. It would be the smart people/companies who would look into things and eventually see that who would be switching. I'm afraid we have missed the boat and are pretending to be on the cruise at this point.
Microsoft reaps the reputation that it sows (Score:1, Interesting)
I'm not anybody's fanboy, and that includes Linux, Unix or anything else, because I'm an engineer and I rate things on merit.
Yet I have great difficulty finding any sympathy for what you wrote, when Microsoft seems at every turn to do its darndest to spew its worst at the FOSS community, with its only concern being what's immediately good for Microsoft. You might find your arguments gather more support if you could present example cases of MS doing good in the open arena, yet even one single clear case is hard to find. Everything they do seems to have unfortunate dark corners.
I suspect that the problem is that the left hand in MS doesn't know what the right hand is doing, and the anti-openness factions there destroy any good work that others do. Well unfortunately that then creates the stigma you see, and it's not irrational as you claim but deserved.
Microsoft gets good press when it does good. For instance, WinXP became quite a good product, and really solid when used correctly and when apps like MSIE are avoided. The company earned volumes of kudos because of that, even on Slashdot, because it was deserved.
Actual merit is important for reputation, and you seem to forget that fundamental principle. Microsoft will have to earn a better reputation if it is to get one.
Re:Cool (Score:5, Interesting)
The entire patent protect was for the stuff Novell created that used MS stuff in order to make linux and windows work together. That was the stated goals and reasons from day one. MS offered to cover Novells customers for everything and they didn't turn it down.
I firmly believe that everyone throwing a fit about their partnership knew this to be the case. It is just that there was this license that people didn't like being tossed around and they needed to get support for it. And that is why they came out on several occasions claiming the New GPL version 3 license would stop Novell's deal with Microsoft when there was nothing in the text at the time indicating it would. The entire FUD campaign surrounding that was cooked up to get support for the GPLv3 it seems.
However, even if we disagree on this, I commend you on your second statement about one action doesn't define a company. I'm not a big Novell Fan or anything. I just hate to see the injustice surrounding the entire situation. Novell got a raw deal in what couldn't be anything but self serving for MS and the FSF. In almost anything else I can remember Novell being associated with Linux and free software on, they brought value to the table in more ways then one. Novell has been a big benefit to the Linux community if for nothing else, their stand against SCO when they could have turned a blind eye and let IBM take it all the way. That doesn't seem like someone wanting to hurt Linux or Free software. This move to rekindle the driver program seems contrary to any wishes to hurt linux or F/OSS too.
I'm wandering if having a big name company like Novell behind the push would make hardware manufacturers a little more comfortable about sharing the stuff necessary to make this happen. If I remember correctly, they didn't have that "big name" support the first time around.
Re:Cool (Score:5, Interesting)
I worked for Novell until late 2004, well before the Microsoft patent issue. Novell's main business areas then and now are not SUSE incenses, but solutions for platform management and identity management. Both areas require a strong interoperability with Microsoft products, as most big companies have and will continue to have mixed environments. That's is the core of the deal: make possible a better integration between linux and Microsoft product. Just see the recent annoucement about a join laboratory.
it is for sure that some people in the FOS community would prefer to see Microsoft products just vanish from the enterprises, but this is unlikely to happen any time soon, so Novell must take a more conservative approach and accept that they are here to staly for some time. But don't get me wrong: Novell people never liked Microsoft and this is marriage for convenience and unfortunately business are like this.
I think it would be a sign of maturity that the FOS community accepted the facts of life.
Re:Cool (Score:5, Interesting)
Novell's seen ther linux income grow to $250 million the last quarter, and that includes $100 million of licensing directly from the MS deal.
As you point out, they're spending countless millions in the SCO case, and it looks like "the money's all gone" in the $25 - $30 million they owe SCO. They also put out a decent linux (hey, it configures all 3 video cards in my box first time around, I'm impressed) and they contribute heavily to linux development.
Then I look at the people slagging them - they all have agendas. FSF wrt the GPLv3, (esp. when actual cases prove that the GPLv2 isn't broken), and the buy-in to MS fud from the community at large. Its a wonder they don't just pull an Apple and say "with friends like this, f*** it - lets grab a copy of BSD and put our efforts into that instead."
Its the same with SUN - "SUN is eviiil" - even though we really like the free stuff like OpenOffice (Sun paid $50 million for StarOffice, then released the code) and Java.
amazing (Score:2, Interesting)
Mac is winning, not because it's better but because of Linux is an incoherent mess of dozens of distribution with no clear reason why to select one over the other.
You want mom and pop and aunt Rose to use it? Well here is your chance. don't fuck up!
Re:Cool (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Good to hear - as long as they stay clean.. (Score:4, Interesting)
I am 98% a Windows user. I have Microsoft certifications, own an MSDN license, and use it and develop on it. But I have an interest in other OS's: There's an aging Linux partition on my system and a Mac on my wife's desktop. I'm not Microsoft hater, nor an apologist. But the Novell-Microsoft deal outrages me. Novell signs a cross-licensing deal, then claims that they don't infringe on any of Microsoft's patents. Then they claim that they are going to make their Linux more Microsoft friendly, which implies that they will put Microsoft patents into open-source Linux. It's like each sentence that comes from the collective mouth of Novell conflicts with the previous, and the next. All appearances imply that Novell is going to try and poison Linux and try to remain the only one standing because of the patent deal. And Microsoft is using Novell to spread FUD. Even if I have the exact plan wrong, something sinister is going on here.
There's a real reason to hate Novell these days. Maybe even a good explanation of what they are trying to accomplish would change my mind. But for now, I'm avoiding Novell.
Novell apologists read (Score:3, Interesting)
This is a threat to open source, since Novell may just add duhbious terms to the drivers' licenses. Or purpotedly add MS code to them so they are the only ones able to legally distribute them.
Some stuff before the Novell apologists come to bash me:
- Thanks to Novell's deal, the only distro able to legally include moonlight is SUSE enterprise, you are right, not even OpenSUSE, and they say moonlight is open source, sure it is licensed open source but due to 'patent issues' only novell can distribute it, Don't believe me? It is something that both Miguel Icaza and a Novell guy called Bruce have publically accepted, hope a google
- Novell is now actively being a predator spreading FUD and lies about other distros and faking numbers to show how their "superior windows integration" (which is null) is a competitive advantage.
- Novell has accepted MS' proposal of effectively turning Linux into a windows program, so that people can easily migrate their Linux servers to MS' servers, they have accepted that only Linux is going to be virtualized, and 0 virtualization of windows on Linux, Yeah, this is the "open source supporter" Novell, turning Linux into a second class operating system.
- Novell is actually the only company that will support OOXML, oddly enough not even MS would support it if it was approved as an standard, fun?
Denying that Novell's deal is a threat is like denying water is composed of Hydrogen , if you prefer Novell over Linux and open source, friging accept it, but we are growing tired of people that keep their blind Novell fanboyism and pretend they do not want to destroy Linux for their own convenience, they want to make their own propietary, MS dependent OS out of open source projects.