Ubuntu leader speaks on Oracle/Redhat and Novell/Microsoft

The Register has posted an interview with Mark Shuttleworth, the founder of Ubuntu.
Mark explains his opinion on the Oracle/Redhat news:

"I think it's great that Oracle has entered the Linux market, but the specific tactic they have chosen is going to be very impractical," Shuttleworth said, in an interview with The Register at Google's headquarters. "It is really hard to maintain a fork of a binary platform.

"Larry Ellison was basically saying that Oracle will keep Red Hat Linux the same but then also make it better. The end result of that will be death by a thousands paper cuts. There will be lots and lots of little incompatibilities.

"So, practically, in two or three years, I expect them either to buy Red Hat and just say, 'Fine. This is our platform.' Or fork it and say, 'Here is Oracle Linux. We built it, and forget that compatibility thing.' Or to use something like Ubuntu where they don't have to rip the trademarks out and they don't have to feel like they have to pay us money."

I find it interesting that Mark suggests that Oracle could sell support for Ubuntu. You would think that Mark would want his company to be the primary support vendor for Ubuntu. However, from what I have seen of Mark, he does not appear to be concerned about cornering the support market. For example, if you look at the Ubuntu Support page, you will see links to Ubuntu Partners and the Ubuntu Marketplace, where users can find paid support options from various companies.

Perhaps Mark truly believes that the world will be a better place when people of all backgrounds have access to high-quality free software. There is a principle that the more resources that are applied to open source software, the better it becomes for everyone (not just paying customers). With that in mind, if Oracle decided to begin improving and supporting Ubuntu, it would be a "good" thing.

Next, Mark comments on the Novell/Microsoft deal:

"Fundamentally, I think Microsoft is making an intellectual property play. The second thing is 'follow the money.' We see $240m from Microsoft and $40m back from Novell.

"I am sure that Novell just got paid $200m to be on that stage, and Microsoft is going to expect a return on their investment. And not from Novell.

"They are looking to establish, I believe, a framework which gives them a revenue base regardless of the OS.

"We haven't seen the details of the deal. Novell hasn't seen the real plan. The industry is littered with companies that have fought with Microsoft, then went to Microsoft as a cowered partner to do some small deal and then just got axed. Palm, Sybase and, um, Novell."

It looks like Mark is in agreement with many other technology pundits about the negative aspects of this deal.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Using the Cisco console in Linux

Image
Introduction People who work with Cisco network equipment need to be able to connect to the console port on their devices. In Windows, you can simply fire up HyperTerminal to get basic access to your devices. If you are using Linux, then you need to know how this can be done with an application called Minicom . Hardware First, you are going to need a Cisco console cable , a Cisco device, and a computer. If your computer has a serial port , then you can use the standard console cable that comes with every Cisco device. If you do not have a serial port (like most new laptops), then you need to purchase a USB to Serial adapter that supports Linux. This device will allow you to use the standard Cisco cable, which has a serial port on one end. Install Minicom You can easily install Minicom by using "System > Administration > Synaptic Package Manager". Search for "minicom" and choose to install the package. Click "Apply" and Minicom should be insta
Read more

What it takes to make Ubuntu ready for use

I recently installed Ubuntu 6.10 on a new PC at work. In this post I will document all the steps I had to perform to get it ready for everyday use. Each step is assigned a level of difficulty, which I define below: Very Easy Step can be completed without using the command prompt Intuitive to complete Easy Step can be completed without using the command prompt May require searching to find the right place to make the change Medium Requires a single command to be entered at the command prompt Requires searching internet resources to find the solution Hard Requires multiple commands to be entered at the command prompt Requires searching internet resources to find the solution Very Hard Requires multiple commands to be entered at the command prompt Requires searching internet resources to find the solution Requires the user to manually edit a configuration file These criteria are quite strict, because I believe that using an operating system should be intuitive, and not require any spec
Read more

Five ways to use Windows apps in Linux

Image
1. Use an open source alternative instead When someone asks me if they can run "Windows Application X" on Linux, the first thing I tell them is to look for an open source alternative. For most Windows applications, there will be a high-quality open source alternative that can meet their needs. The biggest hurdle for non-Linux people is simply knowing that these alternative exist and how to find them. The best place I have found to search for these applications is at www.osalt.com . On that site, you can enter the name of the Windows application and it will list the open source alternatives that provide similar functionality. Be sure to check it out. 2. Buy a commercial product that was designed for Linux If you cannot find an open source alternative, and you have not already purchased a Windows application, then you should consider purchasing a commercial product that was designed for Linux. Here is a story of a civil engineer who wanted to find an open source replacemen
Read more