● 10.21.10
●● How Mono Helps Microsoft DirectX, With Contribution From VMB_ware
Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Mono, Novell, OpenSUSE, Patents, SLES/SLED, VMware at 8:21 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Paul Maritz (VMB_ware CEO, formerly Microsoft)Photo by Robert Scoble
Summary: Several Microsoft executives who run VMB_ware continue to work on projects which, along with Novell’s projects help empower and spread Microsoft APIs
ACCORDING to this new article from IDG, VMB_ware and Novell are currently negotiating the price which VMB_ware will pay for SUSE (along with Mono and Moonlight based on some other reports). VMB_ware is run by executives who used to work for Microsoft and it may soon have power over Microsoft APIs inside GNU/Linux, including Gallium3D which appears to promote DirectX at OpenGL's expense.
IDG makes it sound as though the sale to VMB_ware is almost a done deal. To quote:
The Wall Street Journal is reporting rumors that VMware may buy Novell’s SUSE Linux OS business, though Atachmate is competing for the est of the company’s assets.VMware and Novell have agreed on everything but price, according to the WSJ, which cites unnamed analysts as saying the tools built to help Linux administrators manage virtualized OSes will strengthen VMware’s own VM management apps.
We are beginning to wonder what VMB_ware may plan to do with Microsoft-taxed SUSE, Mono, and Gallium3D. These assets can help VMB_ware help Microsoft. To quote a conversation from yesterday, there is evidence to suggest Mono is now linking/embedding some Gallium3D.
Very informal discussion ought to be assumed (it is an IRC discussion, thus nothing polished):
jimbo_I read a week or 2 ago about VMB_Ware pushing DirectXOct 20 19:33schestowitzAny news on that?Oct 20 19:34schestowitzgnufreex and Diablo-D3 raised the issueOct 20 19:34jimbo_you might find it interesting to note that Moonlie is using itOct 20 19:34schestowitzI just published the logsOct 20 19:34jimbo_the gallium3d thingOct 20 19:34Diablo-D3Im completely fine with itOct 20 19:34jimbo_so team appologista is also pushing itOct 20 19:35Diablo-D3the tracker is only for dx10/11, which is an almost carbon copy of gl3+future.Oct 20 19:35gnufreexIt looks like there is no patent danger. I checked. But there is still API control danger.Oct 20 19:35Diablo-D3and, the tracker itself is almost a carbon copy of how you’d write a future-only gl3 tracker.Oct 20 19:35jimbo_diablo3d just like .not is a clone of java? Oct 20 19:35schestowitzvmware gallium3d?Oct 20 19:35Diablo-D3jimbo_: -D3, and yes, basically how c# copies javaOct 20 19:35Diablo-D3jimbo_: except its c++ and LOOKs like d3d9, it just isntOct 20 19:36jimbo_diablo: m$ has patents all over the place on .netOct 20 19:36Diablo-D3anyone trying d3d10/11 with a 9 mindset will write shitOct 20 19:36Diablo-D3sun has patents all over the placeOct 20 19:36Diablo-D3also, this is an APIOct 20 19:36Diablo-D3the patents being held will be held by companies like AMD and NvidiaOct 20 19:36Diablo-D3remember, gl and d3d both are high level wrappers for vendor-specific HALsOct 20 19:36jimbo_JoseX a while back wrote a very interesting piece about how you can patent APIsOct 20 19:36Diablo-D3they dont _do_ anythingOct 20 19:36schestowitzAPIs can have patent trapsOct 20 19:36Diablo-D3schestowitz: not without having the patent invalidatedOct 20 19:37schestowitzjimbo_: yes, beat me to itOct 20 19:37jimbo_schestowitz Oct 20 19:37Diablo-D3like, I can write an API that uploads s3tc to a video cardOct 20 19:37Diablo-D3they cant sue meOct 20 19:37Diablo-D3Im not decoding itOct 20 19:37Diablo-D3the video card isOct 20 19:37gnufreexMicrosoft has one OpenGL patent they bought from failing SGIOct 20 19:37gnufreexRest are expired.Oct 20 19:37Diablo-D3gnufreex: except it applies to _running_ GLOct 20 19:37Diablo-D3as in, what happens on the video cardOct 20 19:37Diablo-D3there is nothing being done usefully in software, for performance reasonsOct 20 19:37jimbo_anyways, about to head out with friendsOct 20 19:38jimbo_just thought I’d pass along the info about moonli and gallium3dOct 20 19:38schestowitzDiablo-D3: APis alone are not the infringement, but writing for them may beOct 20 19:38jimbo_moonlieOct 20 19:38schestowitzlink/Oct 20 19:38schestowitz?Oct 20 19:38schestowitzSVN/GIT?Oct 20 19:38jimbo_hold on, gotta re-search for itOct 20 19:38Diablo-D3schestowitz: but we’re not writing for themOct 20 19:38jimbo_yea, it’ll be in git in the configure.inOct 20 19:38Diablo-D3AMD and Nvidia and Intel didOct 20 19:39schestowitzMaybe VMB_ware will just buy MonoOct 20 19:39Diablo-D3remember, all this shit runs on the cardOct 20 19:39-TRIdentica/#techrights-[gotunandan/@gotunandan] RT @cassidyjames So, OS X Lion App Store = !Ubuntu Software Center, Mission Control = Gnome Shell, Multitouch Gestures = UTouch… what …Oct 20 19:39jimbo_http://github.com/mono/moon/blob/master/m4/gallium.m4Oct 20 19:40TechrightsBot-trTitle: m4/gallium.m4 at master from mono’s moon – GitHub .::. Size~: 38.95 KBOct 20 19:40jimbo_that’s the gallium3d detection codeOct 20 19:41jimbo_configure script codeOct 20 19:41jimbo_http://github.com/mono/moon/blob/master/configure.acOct 20 19:41TechrightsBot-trTitle: configure.ac at master from mono’s moon – GitHub .::. Size~: 72.32 KBOct 20 19:41jimbo_that’s their configure.ac which uses itOct 20 19:42jimbo_phoronix also talked about itOct 20 19:42jimbo_iircOct 20 19:42-TRIdentica/#techrights-[flameeyes/@flameeyes] Did #Canonical not trademark #Launchpad? Now we’re going to get confusion between theirs and Apple’s :/Oct 20 19:42-TRIdentica/#techrights-[tekk/@tekk] okay !rmsgnulinux, I know you’ve been waiting forever for 1.2.5 kde but right now I’m working in a kde 3.5.12(trinity) package for ya \o/Oct 20 19:42-TRIdentica/#techrights-[schestowitz/@schestowitz] Open source moves into the enterprise at NZ organisations http://ur1.ca/24rip Not just NZ, but this is NZ-based siteOct 20 19:42TechrightsBot-trTitle: Open source moves into the enterprise at NZ organisations | Computerworld NZ .::. Size~: 44.47 KBOct 20 19:42-TRIdentica/#techrights-[eff/@eff] Geotag, You’re It! https://eff.org/r.2tv Android and iOS respect your geolocation settings. Check them!Oct 20 19:44TechrightsBot-trTitle: Geotag, You’re It! What Your Smartphone Might Be Saying Behind Your Back | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse .::. Size~: 26.49 KBOct 20 19:44*scientes (~scientes@c-76-28-168-154.hsd1.wa.comcast.net) has joined #techrightsOct 20 19:45jimbo_http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2010/Jan-07.htmlOct 20 19:47TechrightsBot-trTitle: Pixel Shaders for Moonlight – Miguel de Icaza .::. Size~: 14.13 KBOct 20 19:47jimbo_that shows they are indeed using itOct 20 19:47-TRIdentica/#techrights-[tekk/@tekk] !rmsgnulinux if anyone doesn’t know, trinity is the kde3 continuation project. Hopefully we may become a go-to distro for kde3 lovers =3Oct 20 19:47-TRIdentica/#techrights-[schestowitz/@schestowitz] #HP announces #Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 http://ur1.ca/24rl9 “1GHz Palm Pre 2, as well as a major WebOS 2.0 update” !llinuxOct 20 19:47TechrightsBot-trTitle: HP announces Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 – News – Linux for Devices .::. Size~: 55.63 KBOct 20 19:47jimbo_vm_bware might be buying mono/moonlie as an injection vectorOct 20 19:48jimbo_for gallium3dOct 20 19:48jimbo_piggyback on other patent trojansOct 20 19:48jimbo_you can probably find more info about thisOct 20 19:49jimbo_this is only a startOct 20 19:49jimbo_but I find it highly suspectOct 20 19:49-TRIdentica/#techrights-[nhi/@nhi] ♻ @eff: Geotag, You’re It! https://eff.org/r.2tv Android and iOS respect your geolocation settings. Check them!Oct 20 19:49-TRIdentica/#techrights-[nhi/@nhi] ♻ @schestowitz: #HP announces #Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 http://ur1.ca/24rl9 “1GHz Palm Pre 2, as well as a major WebOS 2.0 update”Oct 20 19:49-TRIdentica/#techrights-[schestowitz/@schestowitz] Sheesh! When Will Folks Acknowledge GNU/Linux Has Arrived? http://ur1.ca/24rlo Linux dead? 2000 called, wants headline back…Oct 20 19:49TechrightsBot-trTitle: Geotag, You’re It! What Your Smartphone Might Be Saying Behind Your Back | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse .::. Size~: 26.47 KBOct 20 19:49jimbo_too much of a coincidenceOct 20 19:49TechrightsBot-trTitle: HP announces Palm Pre 2 with WebOS 2.0 – News – Linux for Devices .::. Size~: 55.63 KBOct 20 19:49TechrightsBot-trTitle: ur1 Generator .::. Size~: 1.93 KBOct 20 19:49jimbo_good nightOct 20 19:49*jimbo_ has quit (Quit: Page closed)Oct 20 19:50
Assuming there is intent to just promote Microsoft APIs, OpenSUSE ought to escape Novell/VMB_ware by forking and breaking away from Novell trademarks (VMB_ware has no real development communities). There is an OpenSUSE Conference (OSC) these days [1, 2], but apart from that, almost nothing is going on at OpenSUSE anymore. Andreas Jaeger has just announced a new release of OSB, but that’s about it:
The openSUSE Build Service – OBS – is now officially at release 2.1. We’re delighted with the improvements in this release, including an enhanced web interface, integration with online code management systems and better access controls.
More here:
Tomorrow the openSUSE Conference is beginning in the always-wonderful Germany for a three-day event about the openSUSE project and free software in general with a variety of hacking sessions, birds of a feather sessions, and surely some Nürnberg beer along the way. Sadly due to some last minute scheduling changes and only getting back from San Diego yesterday, I on the behalf of Phoronix will not be in attendance at the German conference, but there is openSUSE news to report today: version 2.1 of the openSUSE Build Service has just been released.
In order for OpenSUSE to secure a GNU/Linux direction, its developers may have to get dissociated from Novell before it’s sold to the Microsoft executives who run VMB_ware. It seems as though they are quite interested in the Mono part, which is Novell’s crown jewel (in its own eyes at least). █
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