There are heaps of articles that we have not yet touched on. They were accumulated for just over two weeks. Once again, we haven't sufficient time to comment on them all, so here is just an organised list with a few remarks.

SCO

Groklaw was the only apparent site that had tracked the SCO/Novell saga in court. Here are the coverages:

1. Transcript of Sept. 16 Bankruptcy Hearing - PDF and text

Darl testifies the Norris deal is still possible. He was heading for the Middle East for discussions. The whole thing is 108 pages. I see Mr. Arthur Spector does quite a bit of dancing. He seems to have argued that SCO did Red Hat a favor by threatening them. Any publicity, he says, is good. And UNIX is humming along, he points out. This is amazing! The company that has no shame has found its perfect representation. More cowbell, Mr. Spector. We need more cowbell.

2. Novell files in Utah its opposition in SCO's motion for final judgment

Novell has filed its Opposition to SCO's Motions for Voluntary Dismissal of Stayed Claims, Entry of Final Judgment, and Certification and Entry of Partial Final Judgment [PDF]. There's also a declaration by David Melaugh, with exhibits, both PDFs.

3. Novell's Opposition to SCO's Motion for Final Judgment and Melaugh Declaration, as text

Here, as text, are Novell's Opposition to SCO's Motions for Voluntary Dismissal of Stayed Claims, Entry of Final Judgment, and Certification and Entry of Partial Final Judgment [PDF], as well as the Declaration of David E. Melaugh [PDF], in support.

SCO Motion that this is responding to is here. We have Steve Martin to thank for doing the work for us.

Finance

Novell in the financial/technology news:

1. C.A. Throws Out Lawyer’s Suit Over Fee-Sharing Agreement

Suojanen was retained by Ali Beydoun and Edwin Craig Sheldon to represent them in a claim against Novell Inc., alleging it had failed to pay them amounts due under a contract for the sale of certain software.

[...]

The Novell case was tried to a jury in 2006, and a judgment entered in favor of Suojanen’s clients and co-plaintiffs which Suojanen estimated to be in excess of $19 million, plus over $10 million in prejudgment interest and attorney fees.

2. Why IT mergers fail

Although Novell probably has the worst record in our industry of destroying merger partners - from Cambridge Partners to Platespin what they touch is soon gone or, like SuSe, demoted from leading edge to trailing edge - the general trend in IT suggests that larger mergers and acquisitions other than those driven by the technology developers generally precede financial and market losses.

3. Market Report -- Short Stories (NOVL)

Novell upgraded to Buy at Cross Research . Cross Research upgrades NOVL to Buy from Hold and maintains their $7.50 price target. The firm believes the recent stock weakness creates an attractive entry point. Novell last traded at these levels five years ago and they think the company is in a better position today.

Networking

The following is mostly Netware or 'legacy' stuff.

1. LANDesk Management Suite

The LANDesk Management Suite is much more than just an auditing tool. It is a comprehensive group of tools for generally managing a corporate network which might include large numbers of clients.

[...]

This is a good idea, because some of these prerequisites might not necessarily be installed in typical setups, although it would have been nice to also provide the freely available updates on the installation disks. Both Novell and Microsoft server environments are supported.

2. Linux criticisms probably won't win Solaris converts

Some might cite Novell and NetWare as an illustrative example for Sun to follow. I don't think Sun's Solaris is yet analogous to NetWare, though of course there's always the chance of Solaris becoming a performance legend rather than a performance leader. In the meantime, Sun is probably right to keep forging ahead with its restructuring plan around open source, one that is at times distracting from industry open-source standards, but one that also keeps the open-source product market competitive.

The above comes from Matt Asay, a former Novell employee.

Mark Gibbs from NetworkWorld has history at Novell too, just like Asay. He wrote:

3. More Chrome details, Less Firefox housekeeping

Last week I discussed Google’s Chrome Web browser and I got some great feedback and some less so. On the great side was an old colleague from Novell who said it was "by far the most interesting and informed … commentary I have read on Chrome." (I swear I didn’t pay for that.)

4. UTM devices are making headway

This kind of unified reporting from UTMs can give a broad view of overall network health and activity, says Grant Nickle, the IT director for Underwriters Safety and Claims in Louisville, Ken., which uses an Astaro Security Gateway UTM. It replaces two devices -- a Cisco PIX firewall and a Novell Border Manager proxy -- and provides functionality the company lacked before, namely intrusion protection, gateway antivirus and SSL VPN.

5. WinInstall LE, MSI Creator and Configuration Builder

You have, no doubt, heard about Active Directory. Active Directory is Microsoft's answer to Novell Directory Service. Active Directory is a big repository of objects. It contains objects such as users, groups, shared printer information and network objects. Active Directory was first introduced in Windows 2000.

6. Unitrends Delivers Exceptional Centralized Management Capabilities with Newest Rapid Recovery Platform

Unitrends' new platform also provides enhanced integration and support for Novell users. The new platform supports new Novell Netware protection capabilities, providing added protection of Netware physical and virtual environments. Rapid Recovery 4.0 also provides fully integrated support and functionality for Novell GroupWise and eDirectory servers.

7. A Long, Hard Look at Hyper-V

Of the questions that I get, probably the most common one is something like "is it any good?" or, more often the more direct "is it better than VMware ESX Server?" The short answer (to the second question) is "no;" a mildly longer answer would be "not yet, but the next version might be." The whole virtual manager wars remind me of the file server wars of the ‘80s and early ‘90s, when Microsoft struggled (and eventually succeeded) to topple Novell Netware from its premier place among file and print server software. The first attempt, the IBM PC LAN Support Program, was truly laughable—sort of like Virtual PC, Microsoft's first shot at VMware.

NAC

Here is the press release from Novell:

Novell Expands Endpoint Security Management with Network Access Control

Extending its endpoint security and management solutions to include network access enforcement and compliance, Novell today announced the availability of Novell(R) ZENworks(R) Network Access Control. This newest member of the ZENworks product line ensures security in heterogeneous network environments by using policies to grant or deny access to the network based on tests which determine if a device meets defined security criteria from patches to host-based firewalls.

With a headline identical to that of the press release, the following distinct item was published too:

Novell expands endpoint security management with Network Access Control

Novell ZENworks Network Access Control is the newest member of the ZENworks product line ensures security in heterogeneous network environments by using policies to grant or deny access to the network based on tests which determine if a device meets defined security criteria from patches to host-based firewalls.

The press release from StillSecure:

StillSecure Powers New Novell ZENworks Network Access Control Solution

StillSecure€®, provider of secure network infrastructure solutions, today announced a strategic relationship with Novell to provide a re-branded version of the StillSecure Safe Access€® network access control solution (NAC) as part of the Novell ZENworks€® systems management family. Named "Best Endpoint Security Solution" in the 2008 SC Magazine Readers Trust Awards, Safe Access has also been recently recognized as "Best Endpoint Security Product of the Year" in the 2007 TechWorld Awards, and "Editor's Choice" by Windows IT Pro.

Shane wrote about a NAC issue last week. Here is that article he cited:

Some Surprises in Novell's Foray Into NAC

Novell's approach to NAC comes as the market for such solutions is maturing, with offerings from Microsoft, Cisco and Juniper, among others, already in the market.

More in the news:

1. Novell enters NAC market via partnership

Novell is getting into network access control via an OEM agreement with StillSecure that initially provides a stand-alone product but also includes plans to ensure that software works well with Novell’s ZENworks configuration management.

2. Novell gets taste for NAC with new deal

Novell has dived into the network access control market thanks to an OEM agreement with StillSecure.

3. Novell gets into NAC

The odd thing about it at first blush is that Novell is selling all the other stuff it used to sell and now a separate NAC platform. There is no integration with its ZENworks configuration management platform. If there were, that would be quite an added value over the configuration management and NAC platforms separately.

This one is related:

Decision Matrix - Selecting an IT Systems Management Vendor - Companies and Markets adds new report

*The report covers the following IT systems management vendors: BMC, CA, EMC, Fujitsu, HP, IBM and Microsoft, Novell and Symantec.

[...]

Novell€´s ZENWorks offering has many key strengths that can serve enterprises with specific requirements well. Any enterprise with an environment that includes mixed virtualized and non-virtualized environments will benefit greatly from Novell€´s solution, so will enterprises that require extensive Linux management.

A report from South Africa:

Expanding Endpoint Security Management

Extending its endpoint security and management solutions to include network access enforcement and compliance, Novell announced the availability of Novell ZENworks Network Access Control. This newest member of the ZENworks product line ensures security in heterogeneous network environments by using policies to grant or deny access to the network based on tests which determine if a device meets defined security criteria from patches to host-based firewalls. Without slowing down employee productivity, this ZENworks solution helps organisations reduce the risks associated with network access control and meet regulatory requirements such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard as well as internal security policies.

Virtualisation

Here is the news about Wyse:

1. Novell and Wyse Develop Linux Thin Client

Novell has partnered with thin-client computing provider Wyse Technology to jointly develop a Linux operating system for desktop and mobile thin-client devices.

2. The First Enterprise-Class Linux Thin Client Unveild

Novell and Wyse Technologies, one of the most important thin computing providers, announced a couple of days ago their partnership to deliver Wyse Enhanced SUSE Linux Enterprise, the newest Linux OS specially designed for thin computing. This represents a very opportune mix between, on one side, SUSE Linux Enterprise's security and flexibility, and Wyse's considerable experience in the field of thin computing.

Xenocode returns:

Novell licenses Xenocode's application virtualization technology

Is application virtualization as popular and widespread as desktop or server virtualization? No. But the technology is starting to catch on and fill niche markets.

And well afterwards came this :

Xenocode Introduces Application Virtualization Products for Software Developers

"Xenocoded" applications require no setup, configuration, clients, or device drivers, are isolated from external DLL and dependency conflicts, and run properly on Windows Vista and locked-down desktops. Xenocode-virtualized applications can be easily deployed on USB devices, corporate intranets, the Internet, or existing desktop management infrastructure software such as Novell ZENworks, Microsoft SMS, LANDesk Management Suite, and BMC Configuration Management.

PlateSpin, now part of Novell, received some awards:

1. Deloitte & Touche: Growth Rates of Canadian Technology Companies Falling After a Decade of Remarkable Gains

This year's four Leadership Awards recipients are: PlateSpin (recently acquired by Novell), a developer of data center management solutions; RuggedCom Inc., which makes rugged communications equipment; Evertz Technologies Limited, a developer of HDTV and IPTV equipment; and Westport Innovations Inc., an engine developer and manufacturer.

2. Three investments of VentureLink Funds recipients of the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Awards

PlateSpin, Ltd. continues to hold its rank at No. 2, also received the CVCA 2008 'Deal of the Year' Award this week after its acquisition by Novell, Inc.

3. PlateSpin Wins 2008 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Leadership Award

PlateSpin ULC, a Novell(R) company, today announced it has been awarded a 2008 Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Leadership Award. The Leadership Award recognizes companies who demonstrate technological leadership in four industry sub-categories: emerging technologies, hardware/semiconductor, software and telecommunications.

4. PlateSpin Ltd., CVCA's 2008 'Deal of the Year' Award Recipient

VentureLink is pleased to announce that at the CVCA's Annual General Dinner in Toronto on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, PlateSpin Ltd., won the 2008 'Deal of the Year' Award.

Five years after its inception, PlateSpin was acquired by Novell, Inc. for USD $205 million. "For VentureLink, the sale of PlateSpin, which provides solutions for workload relocation, protection and provisioning was a great success story," says Jim Whitaker, Managing Partner, VentureLink Funds.

The following article about virtualisation involves Novell:

Coming Soon: Sept./Oct. Issue of Virtualization Review

Freelancer Rick Vanover did a yeoman's job reviewing three virtualization planning products, giving the pros and cons of each. Included in his product roundup are CiRBA's Data Center Intelligence, Novell's PowerRecon, and VMware's Capacity Planner.

And here is a somewhat corresponding article:

Capacity-Planning Tools Capacity-Planning Tools

Novell PowerRecon In March 2008, PlateSpin Ltd. became part of Novell Inc., bringing an established player into the virtualization space under the Novell umbrella.

[...]

VMware Capacity Planner VMware Capacity Planner is significantly different than both CiRBA's and Novell's products in that it exists for one -- and only one -- environment: VMware. It's also different in that it's a hosted-app service -- you can't do it yourself. VMware installs a number of components on your network that collect and manage data. That data is sent back to VMware and stored in the "Information Warehouse," as VMware calls it, for number crunching, sorting and analysis.

Virtualisation in the Indian press:

The gloves are off

If you are running Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V seems like a logical choice. Similarly, if you are running SUSE Linux you will probably be best off with Xen. On the other hand, if you are a Sun shop, xVM is the way to go.

And some notes in The Register about 3Tera:

3Tera in virtual Windows server mating call

As for what its customers are actually virtualizing these days using the AppLogic tool: Customers can use any Linux with a 2.6 kernel, but CentOS, Fedora, Ubuntu, and Debian are the most popular Linuxes used by AppLogic users, with a smattering of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. So far, no one has deployed on Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Education

The following was mentioned many times before. Although the solution was noted in prior posts, this one is somewhat new:

Novell brings virtualized terminals to schools

The idea is being pitched at schools, and coupled with several partners they are offering high-powered “Multiplier” systems to nonprofit schools and universities. The “Multiplier” systems rely on virtualization to operate multiple operating systems, each of which is controlled by a separate set of keyboard, mice and monitors – all hooked in via USB. Each system can support up to 10 terminals, with the companies involved pitching it as ideal for computer labs.

Mail

Lots about GroupWise:

1. Road Show to Showcase New GroupWise Functionality with Apple iPhone

GWAVA, Novell's largest technology partner for GroupWise, has announced its participation in a 16 city road show to showcase new fully integrated mobility solutions for Novell GroupWise, currently in beta, along with the powerful functionality of Novell Teaming + Collaboration. At each stop of the road show, which begins September 23, IT administrators will learn about the wide range of functionality and tools for Novell collaboration solutions, including the Apple iPhone and other mobility features, that offer users the most productive and collaborative work environment available today.

2. Eight is Enough

Our GroupWise product, known for more than 20 years as the most secure and reliable e-mail and calendaring solution on the market, has a new release in open beta.

[...]

We all develop ruts in our work–things we do by force of habit even if they’re less-than-effective ways to get the job done.

3. Sybase iAnywhere Delivers New Version of XTNDConnect PC with Support for Windows Vista and Google

With more than 25 million copies distributed in 17 languages, XTNDConnect PC is the premier software solution for synchronizing contacts, calendars, tasks, e-mail, and notes between mobile devices, including those running Windows Mobile, Symbian, and popular PC applications, such as Microsoft Outlook/Express, Vista, Lotus Notes/Organizer, Novell GroupWise, and Google.

4. Sybase enhances PC/mobile sync support

It enables any of these to synchronise with common PIM applications, such as Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, Lotus Notes and Lotus Organiser, and Novell GroupWise, the firm said.

5. Messaging Architects Secures More than 5,000 GroupWise Email Accounts across Novell's Enterprise Worldwide

Messaging Architects, the experts in email lifecycle management and compliance, today announced the successful implementation of its M+Guardian email firewall across Novell's enterprise worldwide.

Montreal, Canada (PRWEB) September 30, 2008 -- Messaging Architects, the experts in email lifecycle management and compliance, today announced the successful implementation of its M+Guardian email firewall across Novell's enterprise worldwide. M+Guardian is being used to filter more than one million messages that attempt to enter the company's GroupWise system each day, and block unwanted Spam, viruses, data leaks and other security threats.

6. Greenpeace needs Sydney IT chief

In advertisements placed this week, the group outlined wide-ranging requirements for the role, from the strategic to the technical. For example, the IT manager selected will need to have experience with Novell's Groupwise and SUSE Linux platforms as well as budgeting for long-term IT strategy.

7. Zimbraâ„¢ Extends Compatibility with Microsoft€® Exchange

The framework is also openly available for anyone in the Zimbra community to write an extension to other collaboration platforms such as IBM Lotus Domino, Novell€® GroupWise€®, or PeopleCube Meeting Maker.

8. Yahoo's Zimbra now plays well with Microsoft

Zimbra Collaboration Suite, an open-source software package, now has an "open extension framework," and the first extension works with Exchange 2003, Yahoo said Tuesday. The company is leaving it to others to develop extensions for other software, such as IBM's Lotus or Novell's GroupWise.

Identity Management

Novell is part of the following group:

OASIS Members Form New Committee to Advance Interoperability Standard for Information Cards

IBM, CA, Microsoft, Nortel, Novell, the US Department of Defense, VeriSign, and Others Collaborate on Personal Digital Identity

Here is a press release from a few moments (well, several days) ago:

Novell SecureLogin Positioned in the Leaders Quadrant for Enterprise Single Sign-On

Novell today announced it has been positioned in the leaders quadrant of Gartner, Inc.'s, "Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Single Sign-On" by Gregg Kreizman, Sept. 18, 2008. The company's enterprise single sign-on solution (ESSO), Novell(R) SecureLogin, helps businesses manage the complex process of streamlining user access to company systems. SecureLogin enables employees to use a single, secure login to authenticate to corporate resources, virtually eliminating the need to manage multiple passwords and usernames and allowing enterprises to comply with regulations and reduce IT administration costs.

This one is a big brag where SUSE's nationalisation might play a role:

One of the World's Top Ten Largest Airports Improves Operational Efficiency and Security With Novell Identity Manager

The operator of the world's eighth largest airport and Germany's largest employer, Fraport AG, has implemented Novell€® identity and security management solutions to achieve a single point of control for thousands of identities and secure IT resources at Frankfurt Airport. Using Novell, Fraport now boasts a single, integrated solution for authentication, authorization, identity consolidation and rapid, role-based provisioning for 10,000 employees and partners. As a result, Fraport is able to continue its ambitious growth plan for the airport, remain compliant and save almost a half million dollars annually in third party IT services.

The H-P relationship with Novell comes back to the news:

IBM software bundle targets retail theft, data breaches

IBM also used the event to pitch its identity management software to HP customers. HP this year said it will stop selling identity management products to new customers and struck a deal with Novell to migrate its customers to Novell’s identity and security management products. Now IBM is trying to grab some of that business by offering migration services and “competitive migration pricing” for HP customers who switch to IBM software such as Tivoli Identity Manager and Tivoli Access Manager.

Security

Newly-published advisories/vulnerabilities include:

• SUSE Security Announcement - kernel (SUSE-SA:2008:048)



• SUSE Security Announcement - kernel (SUSE-SA:2008:049)



• ovell eDirectory Management Toolbox HTTP Header Processing Bugs Let Remote Users Deny Service



• Novell eDirectory Heap Overflow in Processing Certain Opcodes Lets Remote Users Execute Arbitrary Code

A couple of these were pointed out in the IRC channel.

People

These stories and snippets speak for themselves.

1. Agenda Setters: Where are they now... Eric Schmidt

But the former Novell boss certainly proved divisive for silicon.com readers in the 2007 poll, with 39 votes for him to be moved up the rankings but 47 pushing for a demotion.

2. Pamela Almoustine Magee Bradford Inducted into Cambridge Who's Who Executive, Professional and Entrepreneurial Registry

Ms. Bradford has received numerous awards, including the Golden Web Award and Platinum Web Award for excellence in web design, and the Novell Team Player Award for excellence in product release and documentation delivery.

3. Experts: Boards shouldn't tolerate poor CEOs

As a basic principle, boards should do their primary task extraordinarily carefully, and continually evaluate senior management and also ensure that a carefully thought-out succession plan is in place," said Friedman, whose clients include the Independent Directors of Freddie Mac, the Audit Committees of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Qualcomm Inc., Molson Coors Brewing Co., Novell Inc. and the Special Committee of Abercrombie & Fitch.

4. Flurry Names Simon Khalaf President and CEO

Prior to Flurry, Khalaf was president and CEO of Vernier Networks, a network security company; president and CEO of Volera, a leading content and video distribution company; vice president and general manager at Novell; founder, president and CEO of JustOn, a leading Internet file-sharing service; and founder, vice president of marketing at Worldtalk, an e-mail and content security

5. UST Global: Redefining Customer Relationship

The ex-CIO of Novell and a well-known open source evangelist Debra Anderson is excited about what she does these days. She works as a strategic advisor at one of the client locations of UST Global, a California-based IT services firm. Debra not only looks at the delivery schedule and manages the projects but also interacts with the CIO of this client, a Fortune 500 retailer, to understand their business problems and help them innovate by advising them with technology solutions.

6. 'I'm going to f****** kill Google'

"At that point, Mr. Ballmer picked up a chair and threw it across the room hitting a table in his office. Mr. Ballmer then said: "F****** Eric Schmidt is a f****** p***y. I'm going to f****** bury that guy, I have done it before, and I will do it again. I'm going to f****** kill Google." ....

[...]

Google CEO Eric Schmidt has worked for both Sun Microsystems and Novell.

7. Former Nuance executive to oversee Nitro PDF Software's EMEA business

Zadri's CV includes more than 25 years of experience building EMEA businesses for U.S. software companies, including Nuance, Seagate, Novell, Sun, and Goldmine. In his new role, Zadri will manage Nitro PDF Software's EMEA sales and marketing operations from the company's new European headquarters in Paris, France.

Partners

The last report spoke about Javier Colado. Here's more:

Novell’s Javier Colado: Making His Move

The VAR Guy traded email with Novell PR in recent days, and lined up an online interview with Colado. Here’s a look at the quick Q&A session.

Novell's other partners include:

1. World's Leading IT Research Firm Positions Messaging Architects in the Magic Quadrant for Email Security Boundaries

To-date, M+Guardian is being used to secure the mailboxes of hundreds of thousands of users across the government, education, healthcare and corporate sectors, including 5,000 users at Novell as part of a worldwide, enterprise deployment.

2. Novatium Launches Nova Navigator

Navigator is a multi OS digital desktop which provides the user with a complete computing experience for the home, which would mean that this one device has the capability to replace all the digital equipment that you use at home today, the company said. Intel, Novell, FX Labs and VDOPIA have joined Novatium to provide a complete digital experience to the end user.

3. Novatium and Intel launch Navigator

For the Navigator, Novatium has partnered with the industry players like Novell, FX Labs and VDOPIA.

Another friend of Novell issued a press release:

4. Moonwalk Teams With Plasmon To Extend Capabilities Of Hierarchical Storage Management Systems

Moonwalk operates across and between all major file systems, including Windows, NFS, Linux and Novell environments, and all primary and secondary storage environments

There is also this from GuardianEdge:

5. GuardianEdge Named to the Leaders Quadrant in 2008 Gartner Mobile Data Protection Magic Quadrant

The complete GuardianEdge Data Protection Platform delivers strong encryption and granular, policy-based access controls, centrally managed administration, and ease of deployment and management. With the industry's only native Microsoft Active Directory integration and support for Novell eDirectory, the platform allows organizations to manage endpoint data protection for all PCs from the same console for the lowest total cost ownership.

And this one from a Novell Gold Reseller.

Marketing

Novell and/or its fans have tossed some promotional videos into YouTube. Here they are (the new additions only):

Novell: Ein Tanker hat einen Wendekreis von 5 km



Markup Language



Novell Ad"

Utah

The following could fit well under "People", but the location (Utah) makes it worth including here:

Move Networks moving television on the Internet in a new direction

Move Networks CEO John Edwards said the ability to deliver high-quality programing through the Internet is changing how people view television, as well as bringing new meaning to the initials www, or world wide web.

"The new www is when you want it, where you want it and what you want to view," said Edwards. "The old www was all about the Internet and the search."

The company was incorporated in 2006 by Edwards and Drew Major, a founder of Novell Inc., in Utah. The technology that powers the Utah company came from a previous venture, XLON Technologies, started by Major and Edwards, a computer engineer also formerly with Novell.

Another event at Novell:

LivePitch returns to Utah on Tuesday at the Novell Open Source Technology Center from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

That's all for today. ⬆