No Innovation Tax

Red Hat and Ubuntu have flat rejected any compromise with Microsoft. Red Hat called Microsoft's attempts to strong arm "agreements" an "innovation tax". Even though several smaller Linux providers have inked deals with Microsoft, analysts are questioning exactly what that company is up to. The speculation is that it is all about market share.

The drama started last November, when Microsoft inked a deal with Novell to foster interoperability and technical collaboration between the open- and closed-source operating systems. Novell also got protection from possible patent suits as part of the agreement.

Soon after, Microsoft came out with allegations that the open-source camp is infringing on 235 of its patents, and the software giant began making moves to form alliances with other Linux providers. The company was successful in negotiating partnerships with Xandros and Linspire, but has hit a wall with Ubuntu and Red Hat.

Microsoft Deal 'Unthinkable'

Microsoft made its intentions clear on Friday: It wants to work out a cross-licensing deal with the largest Linux vendor on the market that would look much the same as its recent agreements with Xandros and Linspire.

Red Hat quickly dashed all hopes, standing on its previous statements from last November, issued in the wake of the controversial Novell deal. Red Hat left no room for misinterpretation when it said the company would not compromise on its open-source roots.

"An innovation tax is unthinkable," the company said in a statement. "Free and open-source software provide the necessary environment for true innovation. Innovation without fear or threat. Activities that isolate communities or limit upstream adoption will inevitably stifle innovation."

What's really interesting here is that Microsoft is trying to get these agreements at the same time it has agreed to alter its Vista operating system to avoid anti-trust actions.

SEATTLE - Bowing to pressure from Google Inc. and antitrust regulators, Microsoft Corp. will make it easier for Windows Vista users to pick a non-Microsoft program to search their hard drives.

Microsoft will let PC users and manufacturers like Dell Inc. set a different program such as Google Desktop as the default instead of Vista's "Instant Search," according to a U.S. Justice Department report released late Tuesday. Microsoft will also add a link to that alternate program in the Windows Start menu.

Currently, when Vista users browse through their documents, access the control panel, or do other system-related tasks, a Vista search box appears in the upper-right corner of the window. That box will remain, and it will continue to use the Microsoft search engine, but Microsoft will also add a link to the default desktop search program.

Tuesday's regularly scheduled status report on Microsoft's post-antitrust business practices comes after Google filed a 49-page document with the Justice Department in April, claiming that Vista's desktop search tool slowed down competing programs, including Google's own free offering. Google also said it's too difficult for users to figure out how to turn off the Microsoft program.

Taken together, the two stories do not say anything good about what Microsoft is attempting to do.