Deal with the Devil, and burn...

Well it was bound to happen:

Microsoft's Hand in Novell Deal Bodes Ill for Linux

Attachmate may be the primary purchasing party in the Novell acquisition deal announced today, but the involvement of Microsoft means there's a fresh new threat to Linux looming on the horizon.

[...]

"Novell also announced it has entered into a definitive agreement for the concurrent sale of certain intellectual property assets to CPTN Holdings LLC, a consortium of technology companies organized by Microsoft Corporation, for $450 million in cash, which cash payment is reflected in the merger consideration to be paid by Attachmate Corporation," the press release reads.

Attachmate plans to run Novell's SUSE Linux business, according to the announcement, and it's not yet clear which--if any--of Novell's Linux-based assets will end up in Microsoft's hands. If Unix is involved in those assets, however, it won't be good news for Linux or open source software in general.

Look on the bright side, at least Microsoft MVP (and incidentally, Vice President of Developer Platform at Novell) Miguel de Icaza, will be guaranteed a new job ... in Redmond.