MS mantra: ‘Never say DIE!’

BANGALORE: A Novell spokesman confirmed that Karl Aigner, the person who fetched SUSE the Munich deal has joined Microsoft. Said an online report.

Last May, Munich said it was moving 14,000 computers from Windows and Microsoft Office software to SUSE Linux and a Linux Office clone. That news was a big embarrassment for Microsoft, coming even after CEO Steve Ballmer flew to Germany in a last-ditch effort to rescue the account.

This switch has come under a lot of scrutiny because sources in Germany say that Munich's planned Linux migration of Windows NT 4.0 and Office is not going as smoothly as anticipated.

However, another source close to the situation said there is little danger of the Munich deal falling apart as IBM and Novell are the key drivers of the change.

More implementation details of the "Linux Migration of the City of Munich" or LiMUX, are slated to be unveiled in late May or early June, according to a spokesman for the city.

As Microsoft is under pressure both from open-source alternatives and facing customers disgruntled by licensing changes and delayed upgrades, the software giant is fighting a pitched battle to retain its dominance.

Whether or not they are serious about migrating to open-source alternatives to Windows, customers are increasingly playing the Linux card to gain better terms with Microsoft. In December, for example, the Israeli Finance Ministry said it would stop buying Microsoft software. Said the report.