April 17, 2023
GitHub Actions allows the use of containers with different Operating Systems.
Although, it does not mean that everything is seamless when you are using them.
I’ve discovered this the hard way!
Below are my findings and the process I followed to make the GitHub Action pipeline work properly with containers.
It all started with the addition of a new tool in the pipeline, which was not installable on Ubuntu (the GitHub Actions default operating system), due to a packaging issue.
Therefore, I decided to use a Fedora container since I was sure that our toolchain was present and well-maintained in Fedora.
After adding the container definition and changing the toolchain installation command from apt to dnf, the pipeline seemed to be working properly.
After a few days, it was noticed that the pipeline did not fail but was not working.
Read More 
July 26, 2009
In a historical twist, now Microsoft contributes to Linux Kernel.
This fact can seem absurd, but Microsoft sent a 22k lines patch to better support Linux on Microsoft’s Hyper-V last week.
On the one hand, we have to remember that Steve Balmer, Microsoft CEO, back in 2001 affirmed compared Linux and Open Source to cancer.
On the other hand, it does make sense for Microsoft to ensure that Linux properly runs on Hyper-V, and there is no better way to do so than to commit the code themselves.
Also, Microsoft has entered into a deal with Novell for many millions of dollars around Linux and Windows interoperability in 2006.
Read More 
November 4, 2006
On the 2nd of November, Microsoft and Novell announced an agreement to share some patents, cross-marketing, and collaborative development.
The deal is very recent, and it is difficult to say what exactly it includes and what consequences (if any) it will have.
From the information currently available, it seems there are multiple parts to the deal:
- Both companies will work on the compatibility between their OSes and the other company’s virtualization solution (Windows on Xen and SLE on Viridian).
- There will be a collaboration between the companies to improve the compatibility between OpenOffice.orf and the Open Office XML Format.
- Novell and Microsoft will provide each other’s customers with patent coverage for their respective products.
- Microsoft will officially recommend SuSE Linux Enterprise to their customers that will enquire about Linux options.
I find this deal not favorable for the Open Source community for many reasons.
Read More 
January 14, 2004
Yesterday, Novell completed the acquisition of SuSE Linux AG, the company behind SUSE, for $210 million.
Novell is a public company from Provo, Utah, and the creator of NetWare.
Interestingly, IBM got involved in the deal paying $50 million of it.
I’m personally not sure if this is good or bad for the Linux space, but there are a few considerations that I’d like to make.
On the positive side, the fact that IBM contributed to the deal means that there will probably be more collaboration between IBM and SUSE, and therefore SUSE might be able to gain traction.
Also, Novell has recently bought Ximian, another Linux company focusing on GNOME.
Those facts set Novell on a path to become a Microsoft competitor.
Read More 
(Fabio Alessandro Locati|Fale)'s blog