Novell, Linux and Licenseing
Not quite as exciting as gun-wielding maniacs…
But, this is still a big deal to Novell and Linux worshipers. First, over the weekend, there was a story run by Reuter’s saying, in essence, that the Free Software Foundation might somehow ban Novell from selling or packaging Linux in the future. Naturally, this sent a lot of people into quite a tizzy. That would be a terrible blow to Novell, who’s really staked their future on the success of Linux and their products on Linux. I would imagine their stock took quite a hit today.
Thankfully, the folks over at Linux Magazine have a clearer picture of what’s going on. First, the FSF doesn’t control Linux or Linux distribution rights. Secondly, what they’re actually talking about is moving certain key utilities and chucks of code from the current license, the GPLv2, to a new license, GPLv3, which might, somehow, restrict who could redistribute the code. Linus himself has said that he will NOT move the Linux kernel, which is the heart of Linux, to the newer, more restrictive GPLv3. So, in short, what we have is a Linux community that’s panicked over the deal Novell made with Microsoft and is spreading a little, old-fashioned FUD. Interestingly enough, that’s a technique that Microsoft used to fight Linux. Oh, how the worm turns.
So, in short, while this all made for great pseudo news, it’s not much more than smoke and mirrors. Of course, it’s smoke and mirrors that will no doubt effect Novell’s stock price, but, still…
