Novell, Xandros and Linspire have signed well publicized agreements with Microsoft. Rumors on the Web have hinted that Mandriva might be next on the list. Mandriva believes in interoperability, which must be based on open standards, like ODF. They also believe that software patent threats are just FUD. So no deal with Microsoft from Mandriva.

On the Mandriva Cooker mailinglist there was the following request based on my earlier article that made the case that Mandriva and TurboLinux might be next to partner with Microsoft.

It is a speculation, but I think that it would be good to get a clear statement from the management on where Mandriva stands, especially regarding the alleged Microsoft patents.

Mandriva today announces the release of Mandriva Flash 2008 Spring, the new release of its popular bootable distribution on a USB key. This new version uses the new Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring as its base, doubles the key's capacity to 8GB, introduces a new installer which allows you to install Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring to the system's hard disk, and comes in an attractive new white color scheme.

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.

As everybody^wnobody know, Hervé YAHI is no longer the CEO of Mandriva. So I decide to rip off an article from The VAR Guy to issue an open letter to the Mandriva direction. So here are 9 priorities for the new Mandriva staff :

For sometime there, I generally figured that once the next revision of the GPL came about, all of these deals that are being made with Microsoft will eventually be put to bed. I was also delighted to see Mandriva standing against the alleged patent violations that Microsoft brought up time and again.

Apparently some of the folks at Mandriva were not too thrilled with the way matters surrounding Mandriva have been presented. The issue of Mandriva being up for sale was addressed on their official Blog.

Linux distributors Mandriva and Turbolinux have announced a development partnership resulting in the creation of a joint development lab, Manbo Labs, which will maintain a common base system to be shared between the two distributions. Work has been underway since October, and the common system will be used in future releases from both companies, including the forthcoming Mandriva Linux 2008 Spring.

Despite TurboLinux having an agreement with Microsoft regarding the use of some of its proprietary technology, this partnership has no implications in that area, and Mandriva's position on the issue of Microsoft technology remains unchanged from that expressed by Mandriva's CEO in his famous "We will not go to Canossa" post.

Mandriva always stands one step ahead of other distribution in terms of overall experience.. Though ranked #6 in Distrowatch.. Mandriva features and utilities makes it one of the best newbie friendly distro out there.. The best feature of Mandriva is that the developers try to re master the new release from the scratch.. Not only in terms of Hardware and Software..