Rivals Microsoft, Novell partner for compatibility
Last Updated: Thursday, November 2, 2006 | 7:17 PM ET
CBC News
Microsoft Corp. is partnering with rival Novell, Inc. to improve interoperability of their software in a deal announced by the chief executives of both companies on Thursday.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian announced details of a plan to link Windows and Novell's competing SUSE Linux software at a news conference in San Francisco.
"We're here to announce a set of agreements that will bridge the divide between open source and proprietary source software," Ballmer said.
"Microsoft and Novell are coming together to collaborate."
With proprietary source, or closed-source software, the underlying computer code is restricted and guarded by patent and other intellectual property protections. Microsoft's Windows is an example of proprietary source code.
In contrast, the open source software movement encourages access to the basic code that defines programs built with it. Individuals are then free to add to or modify the software without fear of legal repercussions. Linux is an example of this. SUSE Linux is Novell's version of Linux.
The agreements will help users of both companies' software run them side-by-side on the same computer or server, and improve the compatibility of different document formats.
Patent protection
The competitors also announced an agreement to provide each other's customers with patent coverage for their products. Neither company will make patent claims against their rivals' customers. The agreements will be in place until at least 2012.
"We won't assert our patents against individual, non-commercial open source developers" who write code for SUSE Linux, Ballmer pledged.
Hovsepian hailed the deal package as a breakthrough.
"This announcement gives our customers interoperability and peace of mind all in one," Hovsepian said.
Financial details of the agreements were not disclosed.
The companies will continue to compete in other areas, both executives stressed.
The deals will have no impact on Novell's antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft.
Asked whether the outstanding conflicts addressed by the agreements affected the lawsuit, Ballmer said, "We were able to clear up almost everything except that one."
The lawsuit, filed in 2004, alleges Microsoft used anticompetitive practices that were harmful to Novell's earlier WordPerfect office software suite business.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Botox injected by unlicensed practitioners
- Some Vancouver-area medical spas are ignoring Health Canada regulations that Botox be prescribed and injected by a physician, a CBC News investigation has revealed. more »
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Four former B.C. attorneys general are joining a coalition of health and justice experts calling for the legalization of marijuana. more »
- 6 ways Greece can bounce back
- Although Greece's economic future seems dire, a number of the country's sectors show promise, according to observers. more »
- Online privacy erosion dismays critics
- Government and law enforcement access to people's electronic communications is the norm in dictatorships around the world, but the same intrusion appears to be creeping into North America, say opponents of a new online surveillance bill tabled in the House Tuesday. more »
Latest Technology & Science News Headlines
- New iPad anticipated in March
- The latest version of Apple's iPad tablet will launch in early March, according to blog and media reports this week. more »
- Online privacy erosion dismays critics
- Government and law enforcement access to people's electronic communications is the norm in dictatorships around the world, but the same intrusion appears to be creeping into North America, say opponents of a new online surveillance bill tabled in the House Tuesday. more »
- Higgs boson hunt aided by energy boost
- The world's largest particle accelerator is ramping up its beam energy in hopes that scientists will learn definitively this year whether the last undiscovered particle in the Standard Model of Physics exists. more »
- Nortel hit by suspected Chinese cyberattacks for a decade
- Hackers based in China enjoyed widespread access to Nortel's computer network for nearly a decade, according to a report. more »
Bob McDonald's Blog
Glacier Discovery Walk: Will the visitor centre enhance the view? Feb. 14, 2012 9:22 AM Environment minister Peter Kent has announced the construction of a new Glacier Discovery Walk and visitor centre on the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park. It raises the issue of how to balance commercial development in our National Parks against the preservation of the last refuges of wilderness.
Quirks & Quarks
- February 11: Inside the Mind of a Neandertal Feb. 10, 2012 4:01 PM Can we get inside the mind of a species that's been dead for 30,000 years? A new book, How to Think Like a Neanderthal, suggests we can. The authors reconstruct a creature like us in many ways, but with important differences.
Latest Features
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- Botox injected by unlicensed practitioners
- Toronto NBA fans experience 'Lin-sanity'
- Trudeau says sovereignty less of a bogeyman now
- Homicide follows Vancouver family argument
- Tires slashed on more than 100 cars in Surrey
- Whitney Houston's funeral to be held Saturday
- Online surveillance bill targets child porn: Toews
- Adults told B.C. teen had taken ecstasy
