I just ran into this video from a couple of weeks ago where Eben very eloquently puts the finger on why the Novell/MS deal is happening and how its bad business for Novell.

Imagine a party who engages in recurrent threats every summer time for years on end. On a sort of annual Be Very Afraid tour.

Video at: http://www.redhat.com/v/ogg/summit07_eben1.ogg

Its also quite fun to watch ;)
Here is a