Mandriva has become the third major Linux distributor to publicly announce it has no intention to join Microsoft in licensing and non-litigation pacts. Red Hat and Ubuntu have made similar statements, while Novell, Xandros and Linspire have partnered with Microsoft in sharing licensed technology and agreeing not to sue each other over possible patent infringements.

Microsoft and Linux distributor Xandros on June 4 signed a broad set of collaboration and patent agreements that reminded many of the November 2006 Microsoft/Novell partnership. What do analysts and other Linux vendors think this new deal means for Linux?

Microsoft and Novell are omnipresent on the panels at the Linux Collaboration Summit; Microsoft's MVP Jason Hiner spreads Ubuntu disinformation again, through Tech Republic and ZDNet

OK, so why have Novell, Xandros, and Linspire all gotten into bed with Microsoft? Is it...

1. They were seduced by Steve Ballmer's charming smile?
2. They've gone over to the dark side of the force?
3. Terror of Microsoft's mighty patent portfolio had them groveling at Microsoft's feet?

Microsoft Corp. said Monday it will share technology with Linux distributor Xandros Inc., the latest in a string of deals meant to help the patent-protected Windows operating system work more smoothly with open-source programs.

Microsoft has extended its covenant to not sue users of Linux-based products from Novell to all GPL v3 users as soon as GPL v3 code is integrated into SUSE Linux Enterprise. This means that the patent protection Microsoft extends to Novell customers now covers every customer who uses any Linux-based software that Novell distributes under GPL v3.

Microsoft's relationship with the open source development community continued to evolve last month, with the company adding three suppliers of the Linux operating system to cross-licensing agreements. So, on balance, how will these patent pacts impact enterprise developers day-to-day?

Microsoft is suing TomTom in part because the guys from Redmond claim that TomTom's use of Linux in its navigation devices has violated three of its file-system related patents. One reason why Microsoft feels it can do this is that it already has patent cross-licensing agreements covering these patents with other Linux-using companies.

"At the Linux Foundation Collaboration Summit held at the Googleplex last week, Linux developers, IHVs (independent hardware vendors), and ISVs (independent software vendors) hashed out their differences in an attempt to find common ground."