How valuable are rumors in open source?

None of the top 200 open source stories at Google News dealt with rumors, but the blogosphere had a few:

• The Citrix-Xen deal was just a rumor shortly before it happened.
• IBM may open source its Jazz collaboration suite.
• Neuros is rumored to be working on an open source version of Slingbox.
• The Dell-Novell desktop Linux deal was rumored before it happened.

Contrast this to the way it was "back in the day." In the 1980s it seemed half of each "PC Week" was taken up with rumors about what Microsoft was about to do. Or some other major vendor, like IBM.

There was even a well-known term for the value of rumors in strategy -- Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt, or FUD. It should be noted here that IBM was FUD Central before Microsoft was a gleam in Bill Gates' eye.

In an open source world rumor is devalued. Having sources who will tell you what a major vendor "might" do is no longer a journalist's ticket to wealth.

What passes for rumor is speculation over the importance of things which have, in fact, happened. Even among proprietary vendors.

I happen to think that's a good thing. Although I do like sleeping with software engineers, at least the one I married 30 years ago.

But prove me wrong. Heard any good open source rumors? Any good rumors at all? Or are good rumors just a rumor these days?