Novell shows off its exclusionary deal and its harmful 'benefits' to Free software (Only Microsoft-taxed SLES gets a feature)

The site claims to be "Exploring the reality behind exclusionary deals with Microsoft and their subtle (yet severe) implications".

The keyword is "Reality". Unfortunately, there is not a lot of reality or even any facts behind Boycott Novell's articles, which seem to come several times daily. Let me explain:

On the back of defending the agreement this week, Novell did as promised and published details of its landmark November 2006 Linux partnership agreements with Microsoft.

The alliance between Microsoft Corp. and Novell Corp. continues to bear fruit three years after it was first signed, say the two companies -- one the world's largest proprietary software vendor, the other one of the largest open-source companies.

We recently showed how Microsoft is ’stealing’ from Novell’s GroupWise. Is this the company that Novell is serving in so many ways? Why? Has Novell forgotten the past so quickly? Examples from the news of Novell problems and loss of business to Microsoft.

Can you believe it? Given Microsoft's history of antagonism, It's hard to believe anyone - let alone the Linux Foundation - would call on the FOSS community to respect Microsoft. No, if Microsoft wants respect, they should get it the 'old-fashioned' way - by earning it.

For some time, we have not heard anything about the patent sellout which Novell inked with Microsoft 11 months ago. Microsoft has since used the deal as the basis for spreading FUD about Linux, with claims that the free operating system could be in violation of as many as 235 patents which Microsoft claims to own.

When Novell and Microsoft aren't busy making their products interoperable, they're busy suing each other. A federal appeals court has decided that Novell's antitrust claims against Microsoft may continue. The Linux vendor argues that Microsoft used its market muscle to weaken sales of word processing program WordPerfect and spreadsheet app Quattro Pro.

In its annual report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, Novell expressed concerns over how the new version of the GPL may affect their business. Microsoft might stop distributing SUSE coupons if the GPL version 3 interferes with their agreement or puts Microsoft's patents at risk, ultimately causing Novell's business and operating results to be adversely affected.