Bonum Certa Men Certa

Do-No-Evil Saturday - Part II: SUSE and Lenovo, Few Xandros Bits

ThinkPad laptop
Lenovo Thinkpad



MOST OF THE NEWS is about Lenovo this time around, but we shall begin with the remainder.

Dell presents a thin client, which only supports Windows or SLE.



The flash modules target installation of operating systems that include both Windows XP Embedded and Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Thin Client 10, according to Dell. But, the company adds, the Optiplex FX160 need have no mass storage at all: Via the company's ODDS (on-demand desktop streaming) feature, the unit can also boot from a disk image housed in an enterprise's data center.


Sub-notebooks



Dana Blankenhorn posted a provocative piece asking about the diversity in the GNU/Linux market which targets sub-notebooks. He names Xandros and SUSE, among other distributions.

The Asus unit I last reviewed ran Xandros. Others run Debian. Apricot tried SUSE, and the new Dell Inspiron Mini runs Ubuntu. Last year Dell tried Red Hat.

But those problems adding software add up to one big headache. Each distro does this in its own way. Each application supporting Linux must have packages supporting multiple distros.


Lenovo Sub-notebooks



ThinkPad keyboard



The important news in this section followed a press release. Coverage was in lots of different places, including:

IDG: Lenovo targets new netbook at students

Lenovo this week unveiled a netbook PC designed to be the first mobile PC for K-12 students and a "secondary device" for college students. Related links

Netbooks are smaller, lighter, and much less expensive than full-blown notebook PCs. The Lenovo IdeaPad S10e gives institutions the option of using the latest version of Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop instead of Windows XP or XP Pro2, and the opportunity to dress the slate-gray finish in the school's official colors.


IDG (another one): Lenovo Unveils Hardware Duo: Desktop and Netbook

Lenovo is also following the recent trend of PC makers churning out mini-laptops with the unveiling of its IdeaPad S10e netbook. The company noted that the ultra-portable is designed for students in K-12, as well as those in college. Weighing in at less than 3 pounds, the netbook runs Microsoft Windows XP Home or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell.


Another one from IDG (via the New York Times): Netbook market heats up as HP jumps into the fray

On Tuesday, Lenovo Group, Ltd. announced a low-cost netbook for the education market. The IdeaPad S10e netbook is designed for students in K-12, as well as those in college. Weighing in at less than 3 pounds, the netbook runs Microsoft Windows XP Home or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell Inc.


InformationWeek: Lenovo Unveils Netbook For Education Market

The system comes with an Intel Atom processor and is available with either Microsoft Windows XP Home edition or Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Desktop. The PC is available with either a 4-GB solid-state drive or 160-GB hard disk drive, and can connect to the Internet through a wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi connection. The system also supports Bluetooth wireless for connecting to peripheral devices.

The IdeaPad S10e is scheduled to be available at the end of November. Pricing was not disclosed.


InformationWeek (separate): Windows 7 A Good Fit For Netbooks

Lenovo on Tuesday introduced the IdeaPad S10e netbook for the education market. Windows Vista is not available on the system. Buyers can choose either Windows XP or Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop as the OS.


Var Guy: Novell Turns Linux Desktop Setback Into Victory

Well, those Lenovo IdeaPad Netbooks — with Novell SUSE Linux as an option — finally surfaced this week. Positioned for kids and the education market, the Lenovo Netbooks accelerate the trend toward smaller, low-cost sub-notebooks.


CNET: Lenovo announces Netbook with Splashtop instant-on technology

The IdeaPad S10e will feature an Intel Atom processor, a 80GB hard drive or 4GB SSD, and either Windows XP Home or Novell's Suse Linux , and either a 3- or a 6-cell battery. You won't find an SSD or 6-cell battery offered on the S10 right now.


Lenovo Servers



Earlier this week we wrote about the prebundling conundrum. There is a slightly different tune being sung at the moment and it gets passed forward by ZDNet Australia.

"Globally we are partnering with Novell as a pre-installed offering, but we certainly support and recognise Red Hat as a partner," Steele said.


Here is another article about it. This seems to reveal a mystifying affair between Lenovo and Novell, along with remarks from Microsoft.

The ThinkServer family is available with Microsoft Windows Server or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell, Lenovo's preferred Linux operating system provider. The new ThinkServer line consists of:

* The ThinkServer TS100 Tower and RS110 Rack servers are equipped with Intel Core 2 Duo or Xeon 3000 or 3200 processors and are targeted for small offices utilizing simple applications such as email, messaging and storing files and for use as a Web server.

* The ThinkServer TD100 Tower, TD100x Tower or RD120 Rack servers are equipped with Intel Xeon 3000 or 5000 processors and are ideal for medium-sized businesses that require additional capabilities such as database applications or virtualization.

"Microsoft is excited to work closely with Lenovo in the server business," said Chris Phillips, general manager of Windows Server and Solutions, Microsoft. "The combination of Windows Server 2008 and our upcoming releases of Small Business Server 2008 and Essential Business Server 2008 products align very well with Lenovo's ThinkServer solutions."


Xandros



Novell's GroupWise is mentioned in the following text, but it's mostly about Scalix, which is owned by Xandros, a patents partner of Microsoft.

Scalix, the award-winning Linux email, calendaring and messaging company, and GeM Solutions, provider of Anywhere to Anywhere E-mail Migration(TM), today announced an agreement to offer the GeM Shuttle Manager for simple and fast migration to Scalix, from "anywhere," including Lotus Notes/Domino, Novell GroupWise, Fischer TAO, and all IMAP44-compliant messaging platforms. Companies of all sizes can now easily migrate all email, attachments, calendars, contacts, folders, directories and mail lists from costly legacy systems to Scalix solutions based on open standards and open source. After the migration, they will be free to use their email clients and mobile devices of choice.


Xandros also had this press release.

Xandros, the leader in making Linux and Windows work together, today announced that key staff members will showcase management packs for the Microsoft System Center Operations Manager designed to help simplify managing mixed Windows, Linux, and UNIX environments. The demonstration of the BridgeWays Management Packs will be at the Xandros stand, no. 6, in the Microsoft Systems Center Partner Pavilion at the Microsoft Tech-Ed EMEA IT Professionals Conference in Barcelona, Spain, November 3-7.


Lots of Microsoft there, eh?

Although it's in Spanish, the following press release (same as above) is worth noting. The showcase is in Spain, so this translation was made and circulated.

"Problem solving under linux has never been the circus that it is under AIX."

--Pete Ehlke in comp.unix.aix

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Riot for peace & Love: Catholic Influencers and Digital Missionaries welcome Jubilee of Youth
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Google 'Search' is Fast Becoming No Better Than Social Control Media Infested With Bots
Google emerged almost 30 years ago as a company looking to organise the Web and direct people towards informative pages. That Google is dead.
 
How to Report Apple Layoffs Without Saying the "L" Word
don't look for the "L" word
Wall Street Does Not Care About Microsoft's Impending (August) Layoffs, It Believes Lies From Microsoft, Whose Debt Grows Rapidly
If Microsoft is doing so well and swimming in money, why so many cuts (about 29,000 layoffs so far this year)?
Wayland Considered Harmful (to GNU/Linux Adoption)
it's not limited to games
My Experience With Judges Has been Positive, But We Must Still Pursue SLAPP Reform in the United Kingdom
We believe it'll be a "feather in the cap" if we can help change laws in the UK to better protect investigative reporters
Slopwatch Makes the Web Better
Remember what happened to BetaNews?
Slopwatch: Google News is Pumping in Lots of Web Traffic Into Fake Sites That Say "Linux"
somewhere between 30% and 40% of today's "news" about "Linux", as seen by Google News, is LLM slop
Links 30/07/2025: Climate Calamities Highlighted, Kyrgyzstan Crackdown on Expression/Freedoms
Links for the day
Gemini Links 30/07/2025: Watson’s List of Limits, Lysenko 2000
Links for the day
Some People See What Others See... But Only 40 Years Later
When people deviate from "the norm" they typically get ridiculed and dismissed as "crazy"
Links 30/07/2025: Tea Class Action and Google Killing the Web With Slop
Links for the day
Last Month Our IRC Community Turned 17
Funnily enough we never missed a single day when it comes to logging
"The Unix Kernel"
Linux was inspired by MINIX
The Register Relays Microsoft Marketing, Dubs That Marketing "Research"
Hours ago they did a "Microsoft sez" piece
Dealing With Sociopaths, Liars, and Cranks
A dysfunctional society such as this would never develop
Not Owning Mobile Phones
It's not about resistance; it's common sense
PCLinuxOS Had Functional Backups Before the House Fire, the Site Will be Restored in New Webhost
This is the direction we want for GNU/Linux, not some IBM sales strategy
Gemini Links 30/07/2025: Two Sides of Me and "Hooked on Cosmic Voyage"
Links for the day
Microsoft Will Continue Resorting to Crimes in Order to Keep GNU/Linux Usage Down
It is a real problem and we'll revisit it later this week
GAFAM 'Revolving Doors' at The Register and a "Bribe Price List"
"an analyst at Microsoft"
Microsoft Rapidly Shrinking (No, It's Not About Efficiency, It's About Unbearable Debt)
We'll soon see how much debt grew in the past quarter
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 29, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Corruption is the Standard Operating Procedure at the European Patent Office (EPO)
The EPO is a dictatorship that stains Europe
Local Staff Committee Munich (LSCMN) at the European Patent Office (EPO) Requests an Urgent Meeting to Avoid Abolishing the Office
This is dictatorship led by the most corrupt
Slopwatch: Fake 'Linux' 'Articles' and Spamfarms/Slopfarms
at least 5 fake articles in one day
Gemini Links 29/07/2025: Wayland Unfit for Use and LLM Slop Faking One's Language Skills With Robot Communications
Links for the day
Before the OSI Was Bribed and Hijacked by Microsoft via GitHub and Compromised Management...
The OSI isn't even remotely "woke"
Nailing the "Hey Hi" (AI) Hype Bubble
So-called "hey hi" as they define it now is all about large companies or regimes remotely controlling the processes running on your machine and even your very own behaviour on your machine, which is in effect no longer your machine but some remotely controlled apparatus
The OSI Has Been Silent for Over 3 Weeks, It Has a Severe Trust Issue After Promoting Microsoft and Proprietary GitHub
OSI took a lot of money from Microsoft to become a Microsoft lobbyist
"Four decades; Four freedoms; For all users" Now as a T-shirt
That's shown along the sidebar
Bribery is OK If You Work for Microsoft (No Punishment Expected)
It's very troubling and a symptom of a broken society/system when particular laws or rules are applied and enforced against some people but not against others
Links 29/07/2025: Bad Climate and "Fair Software Licensing" Blasts Microsoft
Links for the day
Links 29/07/2025: Data Brokers Gone Wrong/Rogue and "Copyright Thicket"
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Linuxconfig.org, Linuxsecurity.com, Fagioli, The Register
Today's "Slopwatch" isn't the first article about LLM slop
Someone Should Remind Microsoft Lunduke That Microsoft Hires Many Sexual Criminals and Pedophiles as Well
Microsoft Lunduke on an "expedition" to find one or more perverts, then generalise to everyone in the "community"
Cash Machines (ATMs) Make Mistakes and They're Proprietary Software
Correcting mistakes is a colossal challenge
We Cover Topics Other Sites Are Too Afraid to Cover (Even When They Know the Facts)
It's not that they doubt the truth, they just realise there may be consequences for talking about it
They Try to Tell Us the Free Software Foundation Inc is Dying, But Its Revenue Doubled Since the Dot-Com Bubble Burst
Being in "Activism" is never easy; but it does positive things for society
Yes, Microsoft is the Problem
"I am no MS shill."
It's About the Cost of Workers, Not the Fictional Skills Shortage (That Does Not Exist, the Media Spreads False and Sometimes Self-Fulfilling Narratives)
This issue isn't limited to computing, some dub it "globalism"
Another Failed Use Case for Chatbots (LLM): Legal Advice and Analysis
They're just some self-discrediting toy that costs way too much to operate
Links 29/07/2025: More Pushbacks Against Slop and More Praises of Tom Lehrer
Links for the day
Gemini Links 29/07/2025: Purple Yarrow and Understanding Op Amps
Links for the day
This Monday WebProNews Absolutely Flooded the Web With Fake (LLM Slop) 'Articles' About "Linux", Google News Promoted Them as Legitimate
All of the following are fake articles attributed to pseudonyms or authors that don't exist; the images are also slop. Why does Google promote these?
Linuxiac is Not a Slopfarm, But at Least Some of Its Articles Are Machine-Generated Fakes
what we said about it was correct
Expect More Microsoft Layoffs
"Are more job cuts coming?"
Microsoft Behaving Like It's Running Out of Money to Pay Salaries
Does that seem like the behaviour expected from a company which claims it is "worth" trillions?
LWN Downtime Due to Linode, Not LLM Bots
"I’ve received an email letting me know that there is a potential for data loss."
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 28, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, July 28, 2025
Nonfree Software in My Bank, by Richard Stallman
Updated 8 hours ago
Links 28/07/2025: Science, Health, and Conflicts
Links for the day
Gemini Links 28/07/2025: Healthy Self-Image With Autism and a "New Life"
Links for the day
Links 28/07/2025: COVID-19 Sped up Brain Aging, "Circumvention is More Popular Than Compliance"
Links for the day
Richard Stallman is Usually Right Because He Thinks "Outside the Box"
he is able to observe society (mores and norms) as somewhat of an outsider
LWN Has Been Down for a Long Time, Another Casualty of LLM Bots?
Time will tell. How much time though?
Slopfarms Versus 'Linux' (and Against People Who Write Real Articles About GNU/Linux)
LLM slop in slopfarms by Brian Fagioli and Redazione RHC
Gemini Links 28/07/2025: Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray and Running pkgsrc in a FreeBSD Jail
Links for the day
Microsoft Turns News Sites Into Spamfarms
Is the site The Register MS the next IDG?
The Register MS/The Register US
On Saturday I contacted them for a comment (before issuing criticism)
Hacking revelations at Vatican Jubilee of Digital Missionaries
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 27, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, July 27, 2025