Microsoft Divides and Conquers Linux

General Counsel Brad Smith and Vice President of Intellectual Property and Licensing Horacio Gutierrez threw down the gauntlet for the Redmond Company in mid May 2007 claiming that free and open source software violated no less than 235 Microsoft patents. The Linux operating system and OpenOffice were among Microsoft's main targets. Brad Smith revealed that Microsoft considers that Open Office productivity suite infringes on no less than 45 patents with Linux violating another 107 via the kernel and the graphical user interface of the open source operating system. One thing that the two Microsoft representatives failed to do is point to the actual patents involved in their claims.

However, while opening the patent violation front, Microsoft has been gathering Linux partners to its side. The Windows Linux interoperability and intellectual property assurance inked with Novell back in November 2006 was just a start for the Redmond Company. The free and open source software community strongly condemned the Microsoft and Novell pact at that time, but this did not stop other Linux distributors from jumping on the Microsoft intellectual property assurance wagon.

Following in the footsteps of Novell, Xandros was the second Linux distributor to fall in love with Microsoft, playing on the Redmond Company's safe side. And of course Xandros was in turn followed by Linspire, the makers of a Linux desktop client formerly know as Lindows. The bottom line is that the free and open source community is divided. So half of the 'divide and conquer' strategy is already dealt with, Microsoft only needs to negotiate and to pick Linux distributors one by one.

This week, the leader of the Linux community converged on the Mountain View headquarters to discuss their counter-offensive against Microsoft. But the Linux world is fractioned; for example, there are over 360 distributions of the operating system, among groups that rival with each other instead of working together. Novell, Xandros and Linspire are prime examples of a divided Linux world where others will ally with Microsoft in the near future.