Microsoft will pay Novell $450 million to make its Linux software interoperate with Windows:
The payments, which will be made in two tranches, are part of an agreement under which Microsoft and Novell will adopt a broad set of business and technology measures to make their products work together better.
Novell lodged documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which said that would Microsoft would pay Novell $US240 million ($300 million) up front in subscription fees to allow the world's largest software maker to use its Linux software.
Microsoft will also pay Novell an additional $US108 million for use of its patents, Linux is the most popular variant of open-source software. Unlike proprietary software, open-source software lets developers share code and add functions, and users only pay for custom features, maintenance and technical support.
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