The following catch-up item might seem like an out-of-place public relations post, but we promised one positive post every week. As such, let's get started with this week's batch.

The Novell/BMW Xen affair represents positive progress at Novell. There is no 'venom' in the press release, so we applaud Novell for that one.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server with Xen will save money without sacrificing performance

The developers of Opensuse have decided to take Linux to schools. The article reveals nothing that bothers the mind.

"As more and more schools evaluate Linux as a cost-efficient alternative for their running systems in a way that will be 'ready for the future of education' and as more and more home users find out, that their children need a PC (and good PC knowledge) to have a stake in the future," the team added.

We also hear about preinstalled Opensuse on desktops in Australia .

The desktop computers feature AMD 64-bit dual core or Intel 32-bit dual core processors with hardware specially selected for home or business users and are designed for various power user levels: surfing, office, multimedia and ultimate.

No involvement of a third party, no promises of 'protection'. That's the way to do it with Linux.

One columnist, who has been rather annoyed with the batch of Microsoft-Linux deals, suspects that Dell might offer SUSE Linux in the near future (but not for the reasons you expect).

There are a couple of good reasons to draw this conclusion. One, if Dell wants to cosy up to a Linux reseller and not put its relationship with Microsoft under strain, then that reseller has to be Novell.

[...]

Second, Dell would much prefer to deal with a US company rather than an outsider - and, no matter what Mark Shuttleworth's standing is in the tech community, he is an outsider in the US, certainly not one of the "boys."

Moving away from Linux, Novell gets a noticeable mention.

QA-IQ's vendor partners are also in strong support of the programme, as Director of Training Services EMEA at Novell, Maria Thun makes clear; "QA-IQ is one of the leading Novell Platinum learning partners globally. As a focused, committed partner, QA-IQ has made a significant contribution to the development and growth of our portfolio, particularly in the Linux sphere. We have worked with QA-IQ to deliver training solutions to several mutual clients and we are delighted that QA-IQ has developed a sound platform to support these clients on a global scale."

This one was probably mentioned in Novell's PR blog just a few days after initial publication as a press release. In any event, here's the press release

Novacoast, Inc. Announces SentinelRD

Novacoast, Inc., an IT professional services and product development firm, announces SentinelRD, a rapid deployment service for Sentinel 6 from Novell(R), Novell's real-time security information and event management (SIEM) solution.

There's also this one:

Columbitech Taps SUSE Linux Enterprise From Novell to Help Retailers Reach PCI Compliance and Safeguard Customer Data

Allows Retailers to Fully Take Advantage of Their Investments in Wireless Networks and Mobile Devices Without Sacrificing the Data Security ERI eXchange 2007

Novell's PR blog says more about identity interoperability.

Today the Liberty Alliance announced developments in its Concordia Project, a global, cross-industry initiative formed by members of the identity management community to drive harmonization and interoperability among the various identity initiatives and protocols

Finally, Novell is looked at from a financial perpective and it is also named "The voice of network experience".