Microsoft And Turbolinux Try To Simplify IT
By Chris Crum
Staff Writer
Article Date: 2007-10-24
It appears that Microsoft and Turbolinux are getting closer than ever as the two parties announced a partnership yesterday to smooth out the "ease of use" between Windows and Turbolinux machines.
As a result of the deal, a single sign-on is said to come to fruition that will allow a user to sign on to both Windows and Turbolinux based machines with a single set of credentials according to Martyn Williams of IDG News Service (via PC World) who explains:The deal expands cooperation between the two companies that is intended to remove some of the hassles of using Linux, said Otake [Turbolinux Spokesperson, Noriko Otake]. Earlier this year Turbolinux added Windows Media Player to its platform, allowing users access to the large amount of content online encoded in that format, and the company has also been working on support for the Open XML document format.
Turbolinux also said it will participate in the Interoperability Vendor Alliance, a Microsoft-sponsored community of software and hardware vendors. As part of the deal, they will be building an R&D interoperability lab at Microsoft's office in Beijing, with Turbolinux at large in China and Japan.
Another part of the deal will see Turbolinux including Microsoft's Windows Live Search in it's desktop OS.
In a separate announcement made on Monday, Microsoft said that it would not sue Linux users using a server distribution Turbolinux's operating system. Paul McDougall at InformationWeek notes:The pledge is part of a "broad collaboration agreement" that Microsoft on Monday said it has struck with Turbolinux, which specializes in distributing open source software in emerging markets like China, Japan, and India...
Microsoft claims that Linux and other open source programs violate more than 200 of its patents, though it has yet to specifically identify any of them. The open source community has denied the claims. According to Turbolinux CEO Yano Koichi, the goal of Microsoft and Turbolinux is just to "reduce the cost and complexity of running mixed Windows and Linux IT environments".
About the Author: Chris is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.
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