Microsoft signs technology pact with Linspire

[Xanatos Craven]

Microsoft Ubuntu, anyone? (http://news.zdnet.com/2100-3513_22-6190846.html)

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Don't make me throw up.

[jiminycricket]

Definitely not unforeseen, since Kevin Carmony's been talking about it for months now, which was an interesting PR strategy.

Pretty dumb agreement though. MP3s, WMVs, Pidgin video chat...it's called FFMPEG or Fluendo's paid-for codecs, and Kopete. And Linspire's use of GPLv3 software now hangs in the balance because it is not grandfathered like Novell-MS was, same problem with Xandros and LGe.

I wonder how they will link the MS video codecs into Pidgin, since it's GPLd?

[Xanatos Craven]

Definitely not unforeseen, since Kevin Carmony's been talking about it for months now, which was an interesting PR strategy.
Really? Wow... I just saw it mentioned on the Planet. I guess that approach could work, desensitizing people to the possibility of them making that move... that is, if a significant number of Linux users were actually aware of Carmony's previous comments.

Pretty dumb agreement though. MP3s, WMVs, Pidgin video chat...it's called FFMPEG or Fluendo's paid-for codecs, and Kopete.
What is it about Pidgin that makes it the default in Linspire, anyway? (I'm assuming it is, from your post.) I mean, I know some people use Firefox in KDE, and Amarok in GNOME, but if there's some huge, actually-important difference between Pidgin and Kopete in terms of functionality, it's lost on me.

The two things that bother me the most about all of this is their making Windows Live the default search in Linspire (eww), and Microsoft's indirectly profiting off of Ubuntu. I sincerely hope this deal doesn't go over well at all.

[cmayoros]

I hope this will push Ubuntu to break it's deal with Linspire. And as much as I wasn't sure about GPL v3 at first, I hope it get's a quick adoption and stops these deals.

[jiminycricket]

Xanatos, I don't know why they use Pidgin (or if they do). Would be very odd for a KDE distro, yet that's what the news release states (http://www.linspire.com/lindows_news_pressreleases_archives.php?id=219). Anyways, here's where Kevin Carmony started talking about an MS patent dea, around May 17l: http://boycottnovell.com/2007/05/17/red-hat-linspire-shake/

From the news release:
Enhanced Functionality and Interoperability
Microsoft and Linspire will work together on a variety of technical projects designed to enhance interoperability and expand the functionality of Linspire. These include efforts focused on the following:

• Document format compatibility. Linspire will join with Novell Inc., Microsoft and other companies to develop and distribute open source-licensed translators that allow OpenOffice and Microsoft Office users to better share documents. These efforts will enhance customer choice by enabling effective translation between Ecma Open XML and OpenDocument Format documents.

• Instant messaging. Linspire will license Microsoft’s RT Audio Codec to promote voice-enabled interoperability between Linspire’s Pidgin instant messaging client and Microsoft’s instant messaging clients for business, Microsoft Office Communicator, and, for consumers, Windows Live™ Messenger.

• Digital media. Future releases of Linspire will now support the latest Windows Media 10 audio and video codecs, allowing Linspire and Microsoft Windows users to better share digital media files.

• TrueType fonts. Linspire will license popular Microsoft TrueType fonts, including Arial, Georgia®, Times New Roman and Verdana®, so Linspire users have improved experiences creating, editing and viewing files and documents.

- Linspire customers only receive these three technologies (instant messaging, digital media and TrueType fonts) if they purchase a patent SKU. The technologies are not shipped with all Linspire 5.0 distributions.

• Web search. Linspire will select the Live Search service of Windows Live as the Linspire 5.0 default Web search engine, allowing Microsoft to bring Live Search to a broader set of users and providing leading search capabilities to Linspire customers.

Intellectual Property Assurance
Through the agreement, Microsoft and Linspire have developed a framework to provide patent covenants for Linspire customers. The patent covenants provide customers with confidence that the Linspire technologies they use come with rights to relevant Microsoft patents. As well, Linspire now joins a growing group of open source software (OSS) distributors collaborating with Microsoft on efforts to establish rich interoperability, deliver IP assurance to customers and build the bridge between open source and proprietary software.

For Microsoft, the agreement is the latest in a series of collaborations with Linux platform and OSS providers. This list of collaborators includes JBoss, LG Electronics, Novell, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Xandros Inc., XenSource Inc. and Zend Technologies Inc.

I was just alerted to this old Linspire Letter by Kevin Carmon as well, from the outcome of the Novell-MS agreement. You'd think someone threatened to string him up or something with this about face only a few months later, sheesh. Microsoft: If you can't beat 'em...charge 'em. (http://forum.linspire.com/viewtopic.php?t=426586)

As most of you know, Linspire and Freespire are the most interoperable desktop Linux distributions available in the marketplace today, by distributing the necessary drivers, codecs and software to let desktop Linux work with most popular file types. In fact, in trying to achieve this, Linspire has had many meetings with Microsoft to try and solve media, document, and DRM interoperability problems. Our experience has been that Microsoft gives a lot of lip service to wanting to work with open source Linux, but then proceeds to drag their feet and delay in actually delivering anything meaningful. (Does anyone following ODF believe Microsoft's proposed "open standards" are really open, or just self-serving?) Given their history, I'm understandably very skeptical that Microsoft sincerely wants to do much here. They'll do a few inconsequential things, again, to give the impression they're trying to interoperate, but they'll continue to protect the turf that matters most to them; their staggeringly profitable Microsoft Windows operating system and Microsoft Office dominions.

The Ubuntu-Linspire deal is very odd in my mind, since wasn't CNR supposed to be in Feisty? I wonder what (if they did back out) made Canonical back out of their benefits from that deal (http://www.google.com/search?q=linspire+canonical&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official).

[loell]

heheh, linspire's version of pidgin will then have voice compatibility with windows live messenger !

more reasons why we need to push jabber + libjingle , fast ;)

[smoker]

The companies did not go into the financial terms of the deal, but Kaefer said, "Clearly both of us expect to make money on the arrangement."

looks like another one bites the dust:(

[SunnyRabbiera]

this is just plain wonderful, just when CNR was about to go fully open and prehaps save us from all the legal bullcrap surrounding libDVDcss and MP3 we get this....


Who wants to save up money for a mac? because we might have to do it very soon.

[karellen]

there are plenty of others distros to choose from if linspire or suse or whatever it will come dissapoints you

[bitonw]

The moment Ubuntu signs up it goes in the skip. Well I might even do that any way… Thinking of installing Fedora on my boxes...

[RAV TUX]

The moment Ubuntu signs up it goes in the skip. Well I might even do that any way… Thinking of installing Fedora on my boxes...

I thought Linspire and Ubuntu have already partnered up?