Goodness, didn't Microsoft just spit in Richard Stallman's eye?

The GPL creator's attempts to stop Microsoft from cutting any more of those patent-protection deals like the one it cut with Novell don't quite seem to be working.

The last draft of the Microsoft-limiting GPLv3 was barely in circulation when Microsoft announced first thing Monday morning that it had pocketed a five-year deal with the little 80-man Debian commercializer Xandros, the New York outfit that bought Corel's Linux distribution, the code that used to be underneath Linspire (nee Lindows), a company more associated with the desktop than the server.

Microsoft's press release also mentioned deals it has with JBoss and Zend Technologies and XenSource and the ones with Samsung and Novell, which are not all the same.

Like Novell, Microsoft is promising Xandros' users enhanced interoperability and patent immunity. The financial arrangements are being kept undercover. Reportedly Xandros is paying Microsoft. Unlike Novell, Microsoft won't be distributing any support coupons. It will however endorse Xandros as a "preferred distribution" and get some sales and marketing initiatives going.

The way the patent protection was described, "Microsoft will make available patent covenants for Xandros customers. These covenants will provide customers with confidence that the Xandros technologies they use and deploy in their environments are compliant with Microsoft's intellectual property. By putting a framework in place to share intellectual property, Xandros and Microsoft can speed the development of interoperable solutions."

These covenants are supposed to be virtually identical to the guarantees given to Novell customers.

The statement Xandros CEO Andy Typaldos was handing out about the GPL threat - considering that Novell-like deals cut after March 28 are supposed to be outlawed by GPLv3 - reads: "We will not speculate on the impact of GPLv3 on this agreement as it is still a draft. In general, Microsoft has been and will remain focused on building a bridge between the worlds of proprietary and open source software. This is something customers have requested to address their interoperability and IP needs in a mixed source environment and something we are committed to continuing."

Right. Microsoft and Xandros cut the deal in terms of GPLv2 and if GPLv3 kicks in - and Xandros can't distribute GPLv3 code - they get to be on the side of the angels and the Free Software contingent gets demonized.

Wonder how that would go down with a jury.

The arrangement is supposed to have Xandros and Microsoft partner on next-generation systems management, get WS-Management protocols implemented in Xandros' Bridgeways cross-platform management products, and get Xandros involved in systems management standardization efforts.

Xandros is licensing what was described as a "broad set" of Microsoft server communication protocols and it's supposed to develop hooks in its Linux server so it works with Windows Server in a network.

Xandros is also supposed to ship Open XML-OpenDocument translators in its desktop software and become a member of Microsoft's Interop Vendor Alliance.