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Microsoft Leads Linspire to Its
Linux Stable
Linspire has joined the likes of Novell, JBoss and Xandros in
signing cross-licensing and litigation protection deals with
Microsoft.
Microsoft has gone on a virtual spree lately, partnering with
Linux vendors across the board. Only a few years ago, the
software giant was fuming about Linspire, which back then was
known as Lindows.
Linspire has become the latest Linux vendor to sign a deal with
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft, the two
companies announced Wednesday. The pact promises a closer
working relationship between the two software makers. For
consumers, it brings greater interoperability and a technical
collaboration that also includes intellectual property
assurances, Microsoft said.
"Delivering interoperable solutions for our customers is an
important priority," said Bill Hilf, general manager of platform
strategy at Microsoft. "Through our ongoing collaborative
relationships with commercial open source companies, we are
demonstrating our commitment to delivering the value and
increased interoperability customers want.
"Covering features from document formats to instant messaging
and digital media, our announcement today with Linsipire is an
important step for our mutual customers," he added.
Share and Share Alike
Microsoft and Linspire will collaborate on a variety of
technical projects, the companies said, designed to enhance
interoperability and expand the functionality of Linspire.
In conjunction with Microsoft, Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) Latest News
about Novell and a host of other companies, Linspire will work
to develop and distribute open source licensed translators so
that OpenOffice and Microsoft Office users can better share
documents. Linspire will also license Microsoft's RT Audio
Codec, a move intended to allow voice-enabled interoperability
between the Linux vendor's Pidgin instant messaging client and
both Microsoft Office Communicator and Windows Live Messenger.
Linspire will now support Microsoft's latest iteration of its
Windows Media 10 audio and video codec so that Linspire and
Windows users can better share digital media files. Finally,
Linspire users will now have their choice of Arial, Georgia,
Times New Roman or Verdana fonts for their documents. The deal
also includes licensing for Microsoft's TrueType fonts.
In addition to the technological additions, Microsoft's Live
Search service will be the default Web search engine in Linspire
5.0. Most importantly, an intellectual property assurance
agreement between the two companies will protect Linspire from
any legal actions on Microsoft's part relating to possible
patent infringements.
One caveat is that only users who purchase Linspire will have
access to these technologies. Users of Freespire, the no-charge
version, will not support the technologies or receive patent
protection.
"This is another set of options to add to the Linux desktop,"
Laura Didio, a Yankee Group Fellow, told LinuxInsider. "Linux
has made incredible inroads in the server Manage remotely with
one interface -- the HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server. area and the
embedded device area.
But they have not really had the same level of success to date
in the desktop arena and its all about the applications."
By Walaika Haskins
LinuxInsider
Part of the ECT News Network
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