Inicio Tecnología. Novell obtendrá 348 mdd de Windows (Inglés)

Novell obtendrá 348 mdd de Windows (Inglés)

SEATTLE: The software maker Novell has said that Microsoft will make two separate up-front payments totaling $348 million under an agreement that allows Novell’s open- source Linux software to work with Windows.

Microsoft will pay Novell $240 million in subscription fees to allow it to use Linux software, Novell said Tuesday in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Microsoft will pay an additional $108 million for use of patents, according to the filing.

Last week, Microsoft and Novell entered a broad set of business and technological agreements to make their products work together in a bid to better serve corporate customers using both Linux and Windows computer servers.

Linux is the most popular variant of open-source software. Unlike proprietary software, open-source software lets developers share code and add functions, and users only pay for custom features, maintenance and technical support.

Under the arrangement, which will run until at least 2012, Novell will also pay Microsoft at least $40 million over five years for use of Microsoft’s patents based on a percentage of its revenue from open-source products.

Indian deal for Microsoft

Microsoft and Hutchison Essar, one of the largest mobile phone operators in India, have reached an agreement to team up to offer Internet search software for mobile phones, the companies said Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported from Bangalore.

Microsoft operates the Internet gateway for users of Hutchison Essar, a venture between Hutchison Telecommunications International of Hong Kong and Essar Group of India. Hutchison Telecommunications owns 67 percent of closely held Hutchison Essar.

«With India being the fastest-growing mobile market in the world, providing a rich set of online services for mobile subscribers is more important than ever,» Microsoft’s chief executive, Steven Ballmer, said in the statement.

Fuente: International Herald Tribune