There will be no shortage of fun speculation in this context for the next few weeks, but we won't know the real nature of the deal until Microsoft and Novell divulge exactly what was paid (by whom and for what), in terms of patent licensing, intellectual property lawsuit avoidance, etc.
One thing I think we can be fairly certain of, for now: it's not a positive development for Red Hat.
The deal effectively makes Microsoft a reseller of Suse Linux, Novell's version of the operating system, and kicks off a broad technology collaboration between the two companies. At the heart of the deal is a "patent covenant" under which Microsoft agreed not to file patent-infringement charges against users of Suse Linux, and Novell agreed not to sue users of Windows. Businesses that use Linux have long worried that Microsoft would one day file patent-infringement suits against them, thereby hindering their use of and investment in the rival software.
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