|
|
| Love Finds a Way? -- Microsoft Invests in Vintela |
 |
|
Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 08:24 AM EST
|
Stephen Shankland has an article about the SCO/Microsoft relationship, in which he tries to determine if Microsoft is really actively backing SCO financially or if it's all just a mirage and a series of weird coincidences or legitimate business moves on the part of a passive ally:
Paying the license fees could indicate that Microsoft simply believes SCO's Unix ownership claims have merit. But doesn't arranging the BayStar investment reveal Microsoft's ulterior motive? After all, why would you want to help prop up a company that is demanding millions in royalty fees from you?
That may not be far off the mark, according to a key BayStar executive.
"Microsoft obviously has an interest in this, and their interest is obviously in keeping their operating system on top," says Larry Goldfarb, managing partner of BayStar.
Without naming names, Goldfarb explained that BayStar received a call from a "senior" Microsoft employee, but not Chairman Bill Gates or Chief Executive Steve Ballmer. "When they started telling me what it was, I wasn't shocked (that) this was something they'd like to see prevail." Does MS love SCO or not? They love SCO, they love them not, they're backing SCO, they're backing them not. I suggest you read this little gem, by Mary Jo Foley, about Microsoft throwing some investment money in the general direction of Lindon, Utah. A company that spun off from SCO is the happy beneficiary of a reported $10 million, give or take a million: "Microsoft made a minority investment on Monday in Unix/Linux management vendor Vintela on Monday.
"Neither Microsoft nor Lindon, City, Utah-based Vintela would comment on the size of the investment. But sources said the amount was under $10 million."
Vintela is a privately held corporation, I hear, so I guess that means we'll never know where that money goes or doesn't go. Heaven only knows, a "free-falling litigation machine" could probably use a hand, even if it's just business thrown their way via the Vintela product. Has love found a way?
Foley reports: "One of Vintela's core products, Vintela Authentication Services (VAS), allows Unix/Linux users to authenticate against Active Directory. A number of vendors, including SCO, build on top of VAS." Let's just say it's all in the Canopy family. And here are some pages of SCO touting their Vintela Authentication product. Here is a bit about Vintela from Information Week: "Vintela began as a project within Santa Cruz Operations before it was acquired by Caldera Systems (Caldera later changed its name to SCO Group). Vintela spun out of SCO Group as an independent company and began shipping its authentication services in April 2003." What a small world. Why, say, April of 2003 is a month after SCO filed its lawsuit against IBM. When did Microsoft send their money to SCO again? I believe it was May 19, 2003 that it was announced. Microsoft has been working with Vintela for a while now, in any case, because they demonstrated the "management of non-Windows resources through VMX at IT Forum" in November of 2003.
Here is a list of their executives, who appear to all be ex-Center 7 or Computer Associates guys. One of them is an ex-Franklin Covey guy, the company that is Darl McBride's old alma mater. The CTO is from SCO, meaning oldSCO, and before that Novell. The president is also an oldSCO man. "One of Dave's key roles has been to establish the business model and a unique relationship with Microsoft." Here and here are pages on what their products will do for you. You can stay in a Windows environment, using Windows tools like Active Directory, and if you have UNIX and Linux computers in your business too, you can access those operating systems without ever leaving your happy Windows home. One password fits all, and you can sudo away in Windows, so organizations can "leverage their existing investment in Microsoft products and technologies by adding the ability to integrate and manage Unix, Linux, Java, and Mac environments through Microsoft systems and interfaces." I read that as saying you don't have to switch to Linux. Just stay where you are, and nobody gets hurt. They market their products, identity management and systems management software products, as a way to comply with regulations such as HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley, a way for easy interoperability in mixed environments, because they say they build their products on standards and protocols (such as WBEM, CIM, LDAP, and Kerberos), and a way to migrate from AIX to Windows. So is this the bugle call of the cavalry coming to save SCO's ... bottom line? Or just another happy coincidence that Microsoft just has to have this product and doesn't have any coders to do it for them or just has no more appetite for stealing the innovation of smaller companies like in the bad olde days, when Vintela would have awakened one morning to find Microsoft, after long negotiations, had decided it didn't need its product after all, only to have Microsoft come out with a clone shortly thereafter, which it would bundle into Windows and give away? No, no. This is the new Microsoft. They'd rather invest $10 million to help the little guy grow. A "unique relationship", indeed. Here's a glowing review by eWeek. Just one little thing. Guess what was the one thing that didn't work so well? "During tests, we were able to apply group policies with ease to users logging in to a variety of Linux operating systems, including Novell Inc.'s SuSE Linux. But this ease came only after some painstaking configuration of VAS on SuSE Linux systems running on IBM 325 eServers." Funny. Vintela is a Unix/Linux management company, so they should know how to make Linux work. I'm sure they'll want to fix that right away. Otherwise folks might get the idea that Novell's Linux doesn't work well. Or might the problem be IBM servers?
|
|
|
|
| Authored by: kberrien on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 08:37 AM EST |
| Winbind is good enough for me, thank you. [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 08:39 AM EST |
You know what is said about too many coincidences?
If you have too many coincidences, then they aren't coincidences.
Mark[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 08:43 AM EST |
| ...now that M$ is on-side? [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: PolR on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 08:53 AM EST |
You know the drill.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
- Novell Desktop Linux - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 10:18 AM EST
- Another copyright strengthening bill - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 11:34 AM EST
- More links - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:40 PM EST
- Ex-MS execs start "Intellectual Ventures" - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:48 PM EST
- Marketwatch FAQ about SCO-Linux - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 01:58 PM EST
- Its your Money - Authored by: leguirerj on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 06:02 PM EST
- Linus Torvalds -- No. 1 Top Executive - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 07:12 PM EST
- European Union may soon endorse the Open Office file format - Authored by: johnzap on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 07:27 PM EST
- From: A Geek's Guardin' Adversus - Authored by: Anonomous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 09:15 PM EST
- It's getting nasty: M$ pays Novell customers to switch - Authored by: m_si_M on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 10:28 PM EST
- OSS in Africa - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 11:34 PM EST
- OT The MPAA proves its understanding of human values. - Authored by: Brian S. on Wednesday, November 17 2004 @ 12:40 AM EST
- OT M$ targets Novell. - Authored by: Brian S. on Wednesday, November 17 2004 @ 12:52 AM EST
| |
| Authored by: PolR on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 08:54 AM EST |
So PJ can find them.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: drh on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 08:59 AM EST |
<sarcasm>
Another coincidence, Sun released Solaris 10 Express with tools to
access/manage...Active Directory! And Active Directory had it's foundations at
... Novell! Solaris has SysV code from ... SCO! There is more inbreeding here
than a stable of racehorses!
I think I just figured out what the next killer app will be:
Family Tree for Software!
(I think I hear the music from Deliverance in the background)
</sarcasm>
---
Just another day...[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: jmc on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 09:03 AM EST |
It doesn't work very well with SCO Openserver either as it relies on PAM which
Openserver doesn't have available.
Funny about that. Still I don't suppose M$ will complain. They don't use
Openserver either.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 09:12 AM EST |
Creating a new thread here to help organise posts as per earlier suggestions.
--
MadScientist[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 09:21 AM EST |
Obviously looking for conspiracy at every turn will make one believe what one
will believe.
There just happens to be some key criteria that M$ looks for when they invest
and it is just a coincidence that the Canopy related companies are full of it.
You do not need to investigate M$ investments, you can go about your business...[ Reply to This | # ]
|
- No comment required on this thread. NT - Authored by: Brian S. on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 09:43 AM EST
- No, we NEED to investigate EVERYTHING about Microsoft - Authored by: clark_kent on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 10:02 AM EST
- We don't need to investigate M$ investments, we can go about our business ... - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:35 PM EST
- These aren't the shady deals you're looking for... - Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:47 PM EST
- George Lucas is on line #1 for ya... - Authored by: darthaggie on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 03:46 PM EST
- A not troll, a troll.... - Authored by: Latesigner on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 05:03 PM EST
- Love Finds a Way? -- Microsoft Invests in Vintela - Authored by: ine on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 06:10 PM EST
- On the count of 10, you will wake up and feel no need to investigate M$, 1...2...3 - Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, November 17 2004 @ 09:38 AM EST
| |
| Authored by: dodger on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 09:26 AM EST |
Sorry for my negative attitude, but I see this as a payoff; same as BayStar
(they set up PIPES based upon M$ stock). One hand shakes the other.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Jude on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 09:38 AM EST |
... or just crooked in a less obvious way.
You can bet your fundamental parts that MS will be charging CAL (Client Access
License) fees for every system that is managed via this software, perhaps even
for every user of every one of those systems. A shop with one Windows system
doing identify management for hundreds of Linux systems could end up paying
quite a bit to Microsoft. Such fees would bite into the Linux cost advantage,
and reduce the likelihood of customers migrating to Linux.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: marbux on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 09:45 AM EST |
| I'm not sure we need a separate standing thread for Novell v. Microsoft. We can
cover that case like we have the SCO cases without a standing thread for each
case. I would like to see a separate standing thread for the related but
somewhat different project of collecting evidence of Microsoft's motives in
various seemingly anticompetitive acts. Judging by many posts, that effort
(appropriately, IMHO) seems already to be transcending the narrower allegations
of the Novell v. Microsoft complaint. So I'm suggesting this topicical standing
headline that hopefully will allow and encourage a broader discussion and
information gathering effort that regards as on-topic anything having to do with
Microsoft's anti-competitive motives.
Using the "Microsoft Motive Project"
head consistently will hopefully allow folks who want to make a post to that
topic to find it easily by searching a given Groklaw article page, and should
also aid in gathering related information using the existing Groklaw search
facility by providing a consistent search term. ---
Retired lawyer --
Free at last! I've got my freedom of speech back! marbux paw AT whiskers comcast
teeth net (remove the animal parts). [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: rsteinmetz70112 on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 11:12 AM EST |
I don't believe in Microsoft conspiracies theories myself. First of all it's too
dangerous if one were uncovered and their co-conspirators can hardly be viewed
as reliable.
Certainly Microsoft would spend some pocket change to undermine rivals like IBM
and others. Certainly that is attractive, especially given the relatively low
cost in MicroBucks. In this case it could well backfire, and validate Linux. It
certainly has the potential to blow up in their face. IBM seems more focused on
validating Linux than defeating SCOG, which would be a relatively simpler task.
Microsoft also spreads it cash far and wide in investments for any number of
reasons, including keeping track of potentially useful technology, undermining
rivals and occasionally at least making some more money.
The final thought is that it doesn't matter much what Microsoft does because we
can't control the actions of others. We can keep our eye on the ball and do what
we can to assist IBM and others in defeating SCOG and proving there is on
misappropriated IP in Linux.
A far more dangerous initiative is NATHAN MYHRVOLD
CEO & Managing Director, Intellectual Ventures
Former Chief Technology Officer, Microsoft Corporation, who is putting forward
half baked patent applications, solely for the purpose of generating revenue. He
was on the Charlie Rose show last night. He could easily become the poster boy
for patent reform. His whole business plan is gaming the patent system.
---
Rsteinmetz
"I could be wrong now, but I don't think so."[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 11:26 AM EST |
Does MS have another litigation agent?
Something Smells....[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: DMF on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:01 PM EST |
There is the implication that MS might have ulterior motives in investing in
Vintela. Well, maybe, but it might be simpler than that. It might be a way for
MS to infuse SCOX with $10M.
At first it seems unlikely, as Vintela is a separate company. It can't just
give its new $10M to SCOX. (It could buy stock, but that would be too obvious.)
But even though a separate company, there still might be financial ties between
them. They could be carrying a significant "debt" to SCOX. While an
asset of SCOX, it won't show up as Cash. Vintela "repays its debt"
and voila, SCOX' tank is refilled. Probably wouldn't even be reported.
The timing of this is interesting in relation to the finalizing of SCOX' cap on
legal fees. The lawyers would have based the cap on SCOX' ability to pay, ie.
on current and projected cash. Now that the cap is in place, an infusion is
safe from that 'giant sucking sound'. The new hoard might be used to fund a new
suit, or suits not covered by the cap.
Recall how Canopy took some cash out of SCOX to reap from the high stock price.
It was by converting debt. Canopy is skilled at this game.
I wonder if a debt from Vintela would show on SCOX' public reports.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:05 PM EST |
Vintela products are about making Windows products work with Unix/Linux, not the
other way around, Unix nor Linux need Vintela ?... Microsoft does !.
As Microsoft's server business gos to linux, Microsoft is funding Vintela's
development to speed up the next Windows-server to, hope, to win back some over
Linux.
If Microsoft plays hardball with Vintela tech cost to get at linux, only IT
will pay for it !, add Microsoft's high license cost, again, IT will pay for it;
how would Microsoft win with driving up IT cost ?, seems a problem for
Microsoft, driving up cost using/connecting Microsoft products, after so much
talking about the low TCO of Windows over Linux.
Vintela (guess) was having problems, Microsoft's investment will help,
Vintela's problem ?, because of the changes to linux-servers over MS-servers in
the market, remember, Vintela, makes Windows work with Unix & Linux, not
the other way, meaning that Vintela saw less growth and maybe lost a few too.
Vintela's business was around before the Microsoft investment, Vintela did not
have the money to fast-track what Microsoft wants, so, Microsoft had to reach
into its pockets. I believe that Microsoft is counting on the FUD value of this
move as well.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:09 PM EST |
| I recall Microsoft has a somewhat similar deal with "mainsoft", who do stuff
with porting the windows abi. Of course they savaged Bristol at the time,
another reminder that getting involved with Microsoft is to expect an Ides of
March moment. But the company and what it is doing seems like something
related to something Microsoft would normally want to invest in like they did
with Mainsoft. So I am not sure precisely why this company and this
investment is being singled out as proof of something underhanded other
than
the fact it's a canopy/SCO spinoff. Seems to me too much tinfoil is
being
used; I'll leave my hat off on this one unless something further can be
shown.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:15 PM EST |
There have been several posts on this board advocating that we concentrate our
efforts in a particular area or ignore other areas as unproductive. The way
that Open Source projects are created is not by a management decision. Nor are
Open Source projects started by consensus. Instead anybody and everybody who
has a good idea starts working on it. Some ideas turn out to be flakey or
undoable and other people simply ignore it. A few turn out to be strokes of
genius. As the originator develops what turns out to be a great idea other
people get enthused and start helping out.
The Open Source development model is chaotic but it consistently brings superior
products and ideas to the fore. Leaders are self made, not appointed. Groklaw
is a good example of one person's flakey idea that proved a great idea and
gathered a following.
So if you have a good idea get busy and work on it. Post explanations of what
you are doing as you go along. If your idea proves itself you will get a band
wagon effect as other people join in.
--------------------------
Steve Stites[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: kawabago on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:16 PM EST |
Wasn't Passport supposed to do essentially the same thing? If MS can
authenticate users once for all sites on the internet they should be able to
authenticate all users once in a local LAN. Furthermore, who would want to buy
security software from Microsoft? Or more ridiculus, buy it from a company that
will sue you if you stop using their software?
I David Boies should be in there demanding his 30% of that investment, it's in
the deal!
---
constructive irrelevance.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 12:58 PM EST |
You know, it's funny P.J. would post about Vintella. I just ran accross an
article at Computerworld, which contains the following:
http://www.computerworld.com/printthis/2004/0,4814,97556,00.html
"At the event, Gates announced the public beta of Windows Update Services,
a tool that allows administrators to control and automate the deployment of
Windows software updates, as well as the worldwide availability of Microsoft
Operations Manager 2005, and Virtual Server 2005. MOM 2005 gives administrators
event and performance management tools for the Windows Server System, while
Virtual Server provides software testing, development and migration
capabilities.
"Gates also highlighted a partnership with platform integration software
provider Vintela Inc. to extend MOM 2005 to Unix and Linux environments. "
I just had to stop and stare at the product name. There is a cartoon show
called Futurama. MOM is a very interesting company....
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: blacklight on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 01:33 PM EST |
Vintela, unlike SCOG, seems to be a real high tech company with real high tech
products to sell. I haven't heard of Vintela acting unethically in any way, so I
am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt despite their association with
Canopy - which as I recall, Vintela claims to be limited. As with many things,
time and the pressure of events will tell.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: dodger on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 01:39 PM EST |
Here's a question for a true researcher (PJ included):
There's been a flurry of interest and money by M$ towards
SCO, since the initial suit against IBM.
How much interest in SCO and friends was there before the suit?
Boies was on the DOJ side before the suit. With M$ after.
Caldera was suing against M$ for Dr. DOS; then, as SCOG, with M$ after. Sun was
suing M$, then settled with M$ after.
Is there a pattern here? Is it called buyout your enemies and point them at M$'s
current enemy, Linux.
The pattern seems to suggest that of all of M$'s foes, only Linux is worth
taking seriously because it is hard to buy it out. The coin has dropped. M$ has
noticed.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: geoff lane on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 01:48 PM EST |
Anybody who manages secure, reliable unix systems from a Microsoft platform
deserves all the grief that they will have.
---
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Franki on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 02:05 PM EST |
Microsoft buys into Linux/UNIX
company.
After I read this article here, I added an update to cover
the Canopy angle. I really do thing this might be a way to funnel a desperate
SCO some cash under the table.. And I agree with someone here that suggested the
10 million might be paid to SCO has payment of some previous debt.
then
again, as I pointed out in my little snippet, MS will do anything to make
migrating from a competitor to them as easy as possible and conversely making
migrating to a competitor as hard as possible.. that is after all what most of
the TOC studies are about.. at least the ones favorable to MS. The harder it is
to migrate from MS to linux, the better their paid studies look.
Rgds
Franki---
Is M$ behind Linux attacks?
http://htmlfixit.com/index.php?p=86 [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: sproggit on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 02:17 PM EST |
The recent splash of Novell-sourced news on Groklaw reminds me of a weird
situation between Novell and Microsoft that dates back to the time when Netware
was the predominent LAN NOS of choice and Microsoft were still fumbling around
with Windows for Workgroups and NetBEUI.
Basically, Novell decided [and
if we have readers from the company with knowledge of the details behind the
decision, please feel free to chip in with background] that it would be a good
idea if they were to expose the programmatic APIs that underly the core Netware
OS platform. They did so. In a short space of time, Microsoft launched a
"productivity tool" that was capable of connecting a Windows NT Domain
Controller to such a Netware Box, then literally sucking out of it Users,
Groups, passwords, data directories and contents, file security permissions -
the works. I can't claim to having tried it myself, but apparently it could suck
a Netware box dry the same way a spider devours a fly.
Spin the clock
forward to the present day. We now have a situation in which our beloved friends
in Redmond are taking an interest in a toolset which allows users of a *nix OS
platform to be authenticated and connected back into a Windows World. How long
before MS impress the world's press with "Migration Tools for Linux" - a suite
of utilities that automate the transfer of accounts and data from a Linux Server
back onto their proprietary Windows platform? Or am I just being paranoid? If
you wanted to compete against Linux, would this be worth considering as part of
the "Embrace" part of "Embrace, Extend, Extinguish"???
Back a few years
ago, we had Steve Ballmer and Bill Gates talking about the prevalence of the
Windows API and the fact that owning that API gave them the hearts and minds of
the developers. The open standards of the internet diluted that power. We know
that Microsoft are already working on Avalon, which, rumour has it, will be
something of a cross between the existing internet and a form of the rich
content delivery of X-Windows using an internet paradigm but populated with
protocols and standards that are owned, controlled and perhaps even patented by
Microsoft.
As a half-way house, doesn't it make sense to leverage firms
like this one to help customers move from Linux to Windows?
Very often
on discussion forums like this it's easy to see things in black and white terms.
We forget that complications [those shades of grey] often appear in the real
world. Office politics counts for a lot - and is one of the reason why FOSS has
to work so much harder than companies with Account Managers that also come with
big "Entertainment" budgets... Sometimes in the corporate politics you're going
to get situations [like mergers] where two different technology cultures are
smashed together.
Microsoft are, I would guess, recognising the
increasing frequency with which this is likely to happen. They are taking steps
to make sure that it is easier for clients to migrate from Linux to Windows than
the other way around. They will work hard to buy or build tools that support
that point of view. Software companies have to do this all the time. OpenOffice
reads Excel files very well, for instance.
Perhaps, rather than reading
too much or too little into this news story, we can consider just two things.
Firstly, as they have ably demonstrated, Microsoft can move very
decisively to deliver "migration" tools when they want to, tools that work to
their advantage and which undermine their competition. Please don't flame that
observation - you'd be missing the point!
Secondly, the best possible
response of the FOSS community, faced with a challenge such as this, would not
be to fight back, but to out-code them. It's not hard. If Novell or Red Hat or
IBM or SAMBA or another major Linux Vendor or project were to propose to
develop a solution that was capable of attaching itself to a Microsoft Active
Directory Server and "sucking out the contents" much as MS did with Netware back
in the days of the NOS wars, then any such MS tactic would potentially be
neutralised.
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Mecha on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 02:53 PM EST |
Or how about the name it changed to SCO Manager. Which, according to Dave
Kearns at network world fusion was what spun off to become - You guessed it
Vintela.
Seems reasonable, but I remember there was another Linux
management application that was eDirectory-enabled from day one. Caldera (which
last year changed its name to SCO but will probably need another name change
soon) had a management package called Volution, which I had written about a few
times. SCO no longer offers the application, though, as it concentrates on
lawsuits rather than development these days.
SCO PR maven Blake Stowell tells
me that the name was changed from Volution Manager to SCO Manager a little over
a year ago, but that “when the company decided to stop all of its efforts around
Linux, it stopped selling SCO Manager.”
The product itself has been spun off to
another company, called Vintela (funded by the Canopy Group, the venture capital
fund behind Caldera and SCO), but its Web site (I wasn’t able to contact anyone
at the company) doesn’t mention the management product, listing instead
something called Vintela Management Extensions (VMX), an add-on for Windows
Systems Management Server to enable management of Linux and Unix platforms.
That’s too bad, because I really liked Volution. There’s a definite market for
an eDirectory-enabled management program for Linux, which could be very
important to you soon. I’ll let you know if one shows up.
The
Article is from 2003 and can be found Here!!!
---
LINUX! Because Microsoft should have no business in
your business! [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: RealProgrammer on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 03:18 PM EST |
... Vintela would have awakened one morning to find Microsoft, after
long negotiations, had decided it didn't need its product after all, only to
have Microsoft come out with a clone shortly thereafter, which it would bundle
into Windows and give away?
They still might. I'm not sure
Microsoft cares who writes their software, or what they expect in the way of
compensation.
---
(I'm not a lawyer, but I know right from wrong) [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 05:40 PM EST |
I am not a hard core Linux user (yet) but I have been nibbling at it for several
years. I also have been an IBM service tech. It seems that I have heard a lot
of complaints from the Redhat folks in the past about Suse going their own way
and I know the IBM does. Are they leaving themselves open to the reported
problems just because they are a bit different?[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 06:16 PM EST |
"Or just another happy coincidence that Microsoft just has to have this
product and doesn't have any coders to do it for them or just has no more
appetite for stealing the innovation of smaller companies like in the bad olde
days, when Vintela would have awakened one morning to find Microsoft, after long
negotiations, had decided it didn't need its product after all, only to have
Microsoft come out with a clone shortly thereafter, which it would bundle into
Windows and give away?"
J/K.
- Dave[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 06:23 PM EST |
Tom's Hardware had an article saying that MS used a pirated version of Sound
Forge to edit some WAV files distributed in Windows XP. Here is a link. [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: rharvey46 on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 06:30 PM EST |
IBM also provides a Tivolli Identity manager which runs on AIX, Windows, Unix
and Linux. In addition, I believe that AIX frequently includes some of the
Tivolli products in its base product - I do not think it is Identity manager
itself - at least not for 'free'.
Interesting thing is ... Identity manager allows a person to have multiple
identities, across multiple machines and/or operating systems, but as resources
are accessed, it permits the person to 'become' the locally defined identity.
Note that Tivolli is not open source, but is based on many of the open standard
security protocols that are available.
But of this I am sure... It definitely would work better than the 'SCO' Vintela
product - especially on AIX. Perhaps, Identity manager was already installed on
the AIX box, and that is why the Vintela product did not work?
Tivolli Security manager may also come into play here...
Note : I am not suggesting that the IBM Tivolli product should be the one used,
just that it is available for the same purpose.
Maybe THAT is why Microsoft is funding Vintela - it is competition with IBM![ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 06:31 PM EST |
| Story at the Register, a lot of analysis:
link [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 08:39 PM EST |
| Here is a fascinating idea about why Novell is suing Microsoft:
link [ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Tuesday, November 16 2004 @ 09:52 PM EST |
``Guess what was the one thing that didn't work so
well?
"During tests, we were able to apply group policies with ease
to users logging in to a variety of Linux operating systems, including Novell
Inc.'s SuSE Linux. But this ease came only after some painstaking configuration
of VAS on SuSE Linux systems running on IBM 325 eServers."
Funny.
Vintela is a Unix/Linux management company, so they should know how to make
Linux work. I'm sure they'll want to fix that right away. Otherwise folks might
get the idea that Novell's Linux doesn't work
well.''
<rant mode=crazed-shill>
Well,
of course, if you people were using Certified SCO UNIX or Solaris or one of the
UNIX flavors that has paid Canopy^WSCO for the use of their valuable, superior
UNIX code you wouldn't have this trouble now would you? If all those people who
run into all these problems with Linux would just give up and switch to
MicroSunSCOsoft-approved UNIX things would go much more smoothly.
Most
companies want to use Windows to manage all the non-Windows systems any way,
even though that is considered a short-term solution until the non-Windows
systems can be replaced with low-TCO and more stable Windows-based
systems.
<rant>
[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, November 17 2004 @ 01:44 AM EST |
EOM
Dennis[ Reply to This | # ]
|
| |
| Authored by: Anonymous on Wednesday, November 17 2004 @ 08:16 PM EST |
VAS is good stuff. It speaks Kerberos to Active Directory (which takes the role
of a KDC). It is delivered as a PAM module on the *nix client. For many
companies that have an AD and *nix clients this is a good solution. Anyone
hoping to see Linux desktops take off should see this as needed
interoperability. This shows how standards can work.
I am surprised to see so much work put into this article *TRYING* to find a
conspiracy. Next time, do your homework.[ Reply to This | # ]
|
|
|
|
|
