From http://www.marketwatch.com:
Microsoft, Novell entering into partnership over Linux: WSJ

By Gabriel Madway
Last Update: 2:18 PM ET Nov 2, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Novell Inc. (NOVL) are entering into a partnership that could help Novell’s Linux operating system, according to a media report Thursday. Under the agreement, which isn’t final, Microsoft will offer sales support to Novell’s Suse Linux, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site, citing people familiar with the companies. The two companies have also agreed to develop technologies to make it easier for computer users to run both Suse Linux and Microsoft’s Windows operating system, the report said. The companies are expected to announce details of their plan later today at a press conference in San Francisco.

Furthermore, open source, IMHO, has consistently failed to innovate in key areas that might make such projects more attractive to conventional audiences who are not into software development.

For example, show me a high quality, innovation computer game that’s open source; show me a browser that’s really pushing the envelope of what’s possible for end users (extensions don’t count).

Open source communities, to date, have not been good at innovating products for regular humans. They’re able to build things that are interesting and useful to them, but rarely put out tools that appeal to wider audiences. They are also good at fixing bugs that deviate from an existing model or paradigm. What is Firefox but a paired down copy of Internet Explorer with tabs (which Netscape 6 had first) and a popup blocker?

While I’m harsh on open source, it’s also because I’m very aware and very sensitive to the struggles it will face to legitimize itself beyond the typical geek/open source communities. For that, we must become more diverse, more inclusive, more tolerant and more understanding of audiences unlike ourselves.

If there is a “battle” at all, then it must be on those fronts that we advance further and faster than the proprietary world. Or else the battles that you’re talking about won’t actually matter at all, as no one will care whether something’s open source or not so long as it helps them kick ass or does what they expect.

There’s an easy way to find out who will “win”. Just wait 15 years.

Overall, though, I think that “winning” is pretty irrelevant to the discussion. It’s like discussing will Linux “defeat” Microsoft? No, it won’t. If Linux becomes more pervasive or profitable than Windows, you’ll see a Microsoft Linux hit the market.

The question is, will open source development replace traditional models, co-exist with them, or peak and fade away like communism? I have what I believe, but the only way to know is to wait and see.