The usually united open source software community is on the brink of civil war, according to a recent Boston Globe article. The impending blowup is over last year’s deal between Microsoft and Novell, which some say could open up other open source vendors to patent infringement suits by Microsoft. 

The Globe’s Hiawatha Bray writes: 

 “As part of the deal, Novell agreed to compensate Microsoft for features in Linux that Microsoft claims to have patented. Critics say Novell has betrayed other Linux vendors and made it easier for Microsoft to threaten Linux companies with patent infringement suits.” 

But Linux vendors are not the only ones in jeopardy. Companies that use Linux and other open source software, including SMBs, could also face legal action.

Hiawatha continues:  “Brown, the [Free Software Foundation’s] executive director, said that those who buy Novell’s version of Linux will be shielded from Microsoft patent litigation. But people who buy from other Linux companies are still exposed to patent lawsuits, even though all versions of Linux are nearly identical.” 

So will Microsoft actually bother suing every SMB that uses non-Novell-purchased open source software? My guess is probably not, but then again… 

“…within days of signing the deal with Novell, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer told guests at a software industry conference that Linux contains Microsoft intellectual property. ‘In a sense you could say that anybody who has got Linux in their data center has an undisclosed balance-sheet liability,’ he said, suggesting that Microsoft might demand compensation from Linux users not covered by the Novell agreement.”

Do you plan your vacation spots around where you can check your email? Do you send yourself email just to get some during a slow period? If so, you are an email addict. But never fear, there’s now a 12-step program available just for you, designed by an executive coach in Pennsylvania.

The first step? Like most other 12-step programs, it’s admitting you have a problem.

Some other steps to email management success include “commit to keeping your in-box empty,” “establish regular times to review your email” and “deal immediately with any email that can be handled in two minutes or less, but create a file for mails that will take longer.”

We’ve been covering email for much of this month, so for more help, check out our most recent tips, guides and news on the subject.

Oh, and there won’t be face-to-face meetings in the 12-step program, but participants will be in communication with their leader … by phone.

There was quite a bit of news coming out of VMware this week. First they announced a new virtual server management bundle product priced for SMBs at just $1,500. This is sort of the next step in VMware’s SMB strategy. Last year it made VMware Server, their entry level server virtualization product available for free downloads on their web site. Now they’re offering cheap products that help SMBs manage those virtual servers. The VMware executive that I spoke to, Ben Matheson, told me that the company would be announcing more SMB products over the next 6 months, but he was careful not to tell me what those announcements might be. So I’m left to speculate. Will some of the more advanced technologies, such as their advanced virtual machine migration tool VMotion, become available at an SMB price? We’ll have to wait and see.

So on the heels of their SMB announcement, VMware’s parent company EMC Corp. announced plans to sell off 10% of VMware in an IPO this summer. Wall Street analysts have been calling on EMC to sell off VMware, because VMware’s revenues are growing at an astonishing rate (83% last year alone). But that robust growth isn’t translating into higher stock prices. EMC’s overall stock performance has been stagnant. There was virtually no year-to-year growth in EMC’s stock in 2006. In fact, its stock has dropped since the VMware acquisition. Selling off VMware would send some cash to shareholders and allow VMware’s stock to soar. But EMC says it has no intention of selling off the rest of its stake in VMware. This is just an effort to give shareholders some return on their investment and to give VMware some capital and perhaps some stock options to help with employee recruitment and retention. In any case, VMware’s revenue growth makes it a good target for investors when the IPO hits this summer.

IDC’s latest SMB-focused research report was published last month, and while many of its findings don’t exactly qualify as breaking news (SMB market expected to grow!), there are a few tidbits of information that are nonetheless noteworthy. 

Specifically, IDC forecasts that IT-related SMB spending will be spurred by increasing interest in local networking and broadband communications in 2007. And it identifies Eastern Europe, the Middle East and parts of Asia as the regions most likely to lead the way in overall SMB market growth. 

There are some other interesting points but if, like me, you don’t have $5,500 to spare to buy the report from IDC, I suggest you head over to eWEEK, which has a good overview of the findings.