Microvell's Dark Shadow

Novell has all of the intelligence it gathered and software it created during the days when Microsoft was its arch-nemesis. Is any of that ancient stuff still useful? Without a doubt. Things haven't changed as much as you think. Novell just didn't have permission to dig in its own archives.

Linux Deal: Too Good to Last?

As a Microsoft partner, how seriously should you take this deal? Analysts George Weiss and John Enck of Stamford, Conn.-based research firm Gartner had some solid advice in a research note for IT that applies equally well to partners. "Consider the publication and execution of a joint Microsoft-Novell roadmap as the critical missing piece of this agreement, with the potential to make or break its long-term value," the pair wrote.

The companies promised a first roadmap in March. If there's no document by then, look elsewhere for your next opportunity.

Seth Nickell made some interesting comments on Mono back in May of 2004:

Why Mono is Currently An Unacceptable Risk

With this agreement, you have turned your back on the rest of the Linux community by deciding to stop giving back to it. This is visible in the form of Mono, which now has more of a patent shadow over it then ever before, and so is unusable by the rest of the community, and in the form of the closed-source endeavors that you have chosen to pursue with Microsoft in the future