Novell Linux chief resignation, Microsoft payoff, is something off here?

Even I will admit that this timing is a little strange. Novell Linux chief’s resignation just seems to be a little ‘too timely’ for some reason. NewsForge reports that as the dust started to settle from their chief departure, things got interesting.

$536 million settlement payment kind of interesting that is. Yes, that is the settlement that was reached with Microsoft over another matter that ‘just now’ is being resolved. The whole thing smells like a bad fish to me. What do you think?

Before the dust whipped up by Linux executive Chris Stone’s departure from Novell had begun to settle, the company announced today’s $536 million settlement payment from Microsoft regarding Novell’s NetWare. Industry insiders believe the timing of these two events — which happened within four days of each other — is curious, to say the least.

Coincidence? That remains largely uncertain, but the two events nonetheless have become cause of discussion for some industry analysts, including Yankee Group senior analyst Dana Gardner and Gartner Group’s John Enck.

Gardner did not claim to have any inside information on either Stone’s abrupt departure or the announcement of the huge settlement with Redmond on alleged antitrust violations related to Novell’s NetWare operating system. However, the analyst did offer some insight on the two matters, that together, “smells interesting,” as Gardner put it.