Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols responds, Novell is not SCO. Novell is accepting around $350 million dollars from Microsoft to allow Microsoft to indemnify Novell customers from patent infringement claims, which Novell insists is not a problem. Steven, who admins he is not a lawyer, believes he understands the way they thread that needle without violating the GPL. SJV-N notes, “In the long run, Microsoft will shaft Novell. Just ask Stac, Lotus, WordPerfect… oh, wait. Novell is still suing Microsoft for that last one! Could it be that Novell already knows that they're supping with the devil? Why, yes I think they do.”
So, they're taking money for desparate short-term gain, despite knowing long-term liabilities? Aiding Microsoft in spreading the chilling effects of bogeyman legal threats that will damage its Linux business as well as everyone elses? A dangerous game they are playing.