Open source vs Microsoft in the schools, with Linux partners and in the patent office … these are some of the topics 
twessels: Many public schools only use Microsoft software for instructional purposes. When the use of open source is brought to their attention, they reply that employers need people who can use Microsoft software. How can open source software advocates make their case with public school officials that open source software should also be part of their instructional program?
Stormy_Peters: That’s a good question. I heard from a country in Africa that couldn’t use open source because there wasn’t enough documentation and the end users were teachers and medical staff in small towns. (This was a number of years ago.) I think the answer now is that OpenOffice is completely usable to anyone who is used to Microsoft Office. My ASUS Eee PC (Linux desktop) was extremely easy to use. I ordered it from Amazon.com. It came the next day. I opened it up and it just ran on my wireless network. Everyone from my 7-year-old stepson to my dad could use it with no problem. Except the keyboard was too small for adult males!
twessels: Novell claims their November 2, 2006, agreement with Microsoft has helped push forward adoption of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server in major commercial customer accounts. And having just attended Novell’s BrainShare I can see that the technical cooperation between Novell and Microsoft is starting to bear fruit. Was the knee-jerk reaction of the purists and fanatics worth all of the rhetoric that ensued? And if not, why has Red Hat refused to even consider such an agreement with Microsoft? It seems that they lost out on having a powerhouse marketing partner, like Microsoft, driving business their way.
Stormy_Peters: “Was the knee-jerk reaction of the purists and fanatics worth all of the rhetoric that ensued?” Absolutely. The open source community needs the purists and fanatics to keep us straight. That said, the world is not black and white and business is not always evil. Also, businesses are using combinations of open source and proprietary software in very effective ways. So if the Microsoft agreement brings more customers to Linux, good. If some open source developers protest the patent agreement, good too. (Now hopefully nobody quotes just one part of this answer!)
ITgirl: So, is it safe to say that the whole Microsoft threats thing has turned into nothing … do you think enterprises are at all concerned about that anymore? Do you think that Microsoft might still really take legal action against any Linux or open-source companies?
Stormy_Peters: First off, I’m not an attorney and I can’t say whether the threat is real or imagined. However, I think Microsoft is adopting the open source software model more and more. I’ve definitely been hearing less concern around the whole Novell/Microsoft agreement. I think the patent and open source issue is still a very real concern. It’s very hard for open source software developers to know if they’ve violated someone’s patent (out of the tens of thousands out there) and very easy for someone to see if an open source software developer has violated their particular patent.
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