| Turbolinux drinks Microsoft's IP-protection kool-aid |
Oct. 22, 2007
Microsoft and Turbolinux, a major Linux distributor in Japan and China, announced on Oct. 22 that they had signed a business deal that advances Linux-Microsoft Windows Server interoperability, furthers research and development collaboration, and provides IP (intellectual property) assurances for Turbolinux users.
This isn't the first time that Turbolinux has worked with Microsoft. Indeed, in 2004, Turbolinux was the first major Linux distributor to make a deal with Microsoft. In that agreement, Turbolinux got the rights to ship a media player that could legally play movies and music encoded in Microsoft's proprietary WMF (Windows Media Format). Then, in July, Turbolinux joined the Microsoft-sponsored Open XML-Open Document Format Translator Project .
This latest partnership, however, goes well beyond the scope of these earlier agreements. While Microsoft downplayed the IP (intellectual property) assurance part of the agreement, the arrangement includes IP assurance for Turbolinux customers who purchase Turbolinux server. No mention was made of Turbolinux desktop customers. With this move, Turbolinux joins Linspire, Novell, and Xandros as Linux distributors who have signed up for Microsoft's undisclosed IP protection.
For business customers, the key component of the agreement is that the two companies will work together on a single sign-on (SSO) program. The goal is to create an SSO enabling customers to use one set of credentials to log onto Windows-based and Turbolinux-based systems. This will be built, in part, on a WSPP (Workgroup Server Protocol Program) evaluation license, which Turbolinux signed to evaluate additional technical collaboration opportunities on which to focus in the future.
WSPP, meanwhile, was one of the protocols that got Microsoft into hot water with the EU (European Union). On the very day that Microsoft announced the new Turbolinux deal, it also announced that it had been forced by the EU to cut its royalty rates for a worldwide license on such protocols from 5.95 to 0.4 percent. We do not know at this time how much Turbolinux paid for its use of the WSPP.
Turbolinux will also participate in the Interoperability Vendor Alliance. This is a Microsoft-sponsored community of software and hardware vendors working together to enhance interoperability.
The agreement will include an R&D interoperability lab to be housed in the same building as Microsoft's Beijing office. The companies will use the lab to focus on testing and showcasing solutions for customers and partners.
Finally, expanding on earlier agreements that involved Turbolinux collaboration with the Open XML document format and the use of Microsoft WMF, Turbolinux desktops will now feature Live Search. Microsoft's answer to Google search, Live Search, has not been doing well in recent months.
In a statement, Microsoft's general manager for IP licensing, David Kaefer, said, "This agreement represents a business and technical collaboration that will benefit customers. Through this collaboration Microsoft and Turbolinux are reinforcing our combined commitment to providing real solutions for our customers such as the single sign-on solution. Turbolinux is now one of Microsoft's preferred Linux partners, and we are looking forward to continue building bridges between open source and commercial technologies."
Turbolinux CEO Yano Koichi added, "Together, we can do much to reduce the cost and complexity of running mixed Windows and Linux IT environments, and we believe this agreement gives our company a significant edge in the marketplace. Delivering value requires a vision for how to design mixed-source solutions that tackle clear customer priorities and a framework for sharing intellectual property. When strong Microsoft customers are evaluating Linux, we want them to see Turbolinux as the distribution that works best with their existing Microsoft investments."
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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