Earlier this month, Microsoft and Novell inked a wide-ranging agreement through at least the year 2012, with the goal of making Microsoft’s Windows and Novell’s SUSE Linux operating systems work together better. Part of the agreement involves Microsoft and Novell cross-licensing patented technologies to each other.
Since the agreement, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and other company executives have ruffled feathers of the Linux community by asserting the Novell deal is tantamount to an admission that Linux infringes on Microsoft’s intellectual property. The implication may be chilling for businesses and enterprises which depend on Linux: the patent-licensing agreement would make Novell immune from any infringement suits brought against Linux by the deep-pocketed, litigation-hardened Redmond software giant, but the same can’t be said for other Linux providers, including Red Hat.
The Linux community has reacted with a mixture of amusement and effrontery, noting that Microsoft has been rumbling about Linux infringing on Microsoft intellectual property for some years now, but has yet to take even preliminary action against Linux for infringement. Linux has also faced a significant legal threat when SCO, IBM, and Novell became embroiled in a long-running suit over Unix-related copyrights; during that time, adoption of Linux was not impaired, but continued to grow.
Linux developers have been very careful path to keep clear of proprietary technologies which might encumber the free operating system. In an open letter to the Linux community, Novell CEO Ron Hovsepian strongly states that his company’s agreement with Microsoft is an not an admission—tacit or otherwise—that Linux contains Microsoft intellectual property: “Our agreement with Microsoft is in no way an acknowledgment that Linux infringes upon any Microsoft intellectual property. When we entered the patent cooperation agreement with Microsoft, Novell did not agree or admit that Linux or any other Novell offering violates Microsoft patents,” wrote Hovsepian. “Our stance on software patents is unchanged by the agreement with Microsoft.”
Microsoft, for its part, is sticking to its guns and says it and Novell have “agreed to disagree” on whether the deal means Linux infringes on Microsoft technology, while acknowledging “Novell is absolutely right in stating that it did not admit or acknowledge any patent problems as part of entering into the patent collaboration agreement.”
Industry analysis seems to agree that Microsoft’s sabre-rattling at the Linux community—in the form of vague mumblings about patent violations—is intended to put a scare into businesses and enterprises relying on Linux. This, in turn, would drive those Linux users towards Microsoft’s preferred Linux partner—Novell—and away from companies with whom Microsoft has no partnerships—like Red Hat. Microsoft no doubt hopes that, by introducing these users to Microsoft technologies by way of its partnership with Novell, these users may “switch” from Linux to Windows-based systems, or at the very least, they’d become customers of a Microsoft partner rather than businesses operating entirely outside Microsoft’s revenue stream.
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.