THE MAIN news this time around is about H-P, so we'll begin with that.

Hewlett-Packard

Here is the press release which kick-started the enthusiasm.

The first-of-its-kind Mozilla Firefox for HP Virtual Solution was developed with Symantec and Mozilla for HP customers. The solution uses the standard release of Mozilla Firefox with a Symantec Software Virtualization Solution layer that allows customers to use the Internet productively while keeping business PCs stable and easier to support.

As customers surf the web, changes made to the PC are contained in a "virtual layer," separate from the operating system, and do not permanently alter the machine. Customers can therefore reset the browser as needed, instantly returning the PC to its last-known good state.

Here is a lot of the coverage that followed (mostly from the press):

[1] HP Introduces New Desktop Offering With SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop From Novell - Quick Facts

ednesday, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ: News ) said it introduced a new desktop offering with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell on the HP Compaq dc5850. The offerings are designed to help small businesses enhance their productivity and ease their management of technology.

[2] HP preinstalls Linux on SMB desktop

HP and Novell today jointly announced that HP will pre-load Novell's SUSE LInux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) on its Compaq dc5850 desktop PC for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Additionally, Novell announced it will maintain a repository of educational software for SLED users, including dc5850 buyers.

This was the article cited by Novell's PR blog.

[3] HP Bringing Linux To Its Business Customers

Hewlett-Packard has announced this morning they will be introducing Linux as an operating system choice for business desktop customers. HP will start by offering SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop starting with their HP Compaq DC5850 SFF PC, which is an AMD-powered system that will only cost $519 USD.

[4] HP to offer SUSE desktop Linux to business, education customers (also here)

Hewlett-Packard is giving desktop Linux a little lift by introducing it to small business customers. The company said Wednesday that it’ll offer Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop to business and education customers.

[5] HP launches its first Linux SoHo desktop PC

Unlike some rival Ubuntu Linux offerings from Dell, HP plans to sell the Linux variants at a significant discount over standard Windows versions; a base Linux version of the dc5850 will cost $519, or about $52 less than its Windows equivalent. Specifications for the new model haven't been revealed but should start with hardware similar to the most basic Windows system, with a 2.2GHz AMD Sempron, 512MB of memory, an 80GB hard drive and no optical drive.

[6] HP starts selling pre-installed linux desktops

While the original mini-note 2133 also came with Linux on board, this marks the offering of Linux on their desktop machines. We reviewed the dc5850 back in October and found it to be a solid business offering.

[7] HP puts Linux on business PCs

With the economies of the globe heading south - and Linux getting its first real crack at newbie end users not familiar with open source thanks to the burgeoning netbook market, maybe now is the time to start rethinking the use of Linux on commercial desktops.

That could be what Hewlett-Packard was thinking as it began shipping its Compaq dx2390 desktop PC with Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 operating system preinstalled on the box.

[8] HP Delivers With Desktop Linux, Open-Source Security Solutions

HP today delivered a one-two punch with a couple of major open-source announcements -- one involving desktop Linux, the other concerning an intriguing new Firefox-based desktop security solution.

First, there is the news that HP is the latest hardware OEM to jump on the desktop Linux bandwagon. According to a company news release, it will offer Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop as a pre-installed option on its Compaq dc5850 desktop systems. The joint HP-Novell SUSE solution will include a software suite that includes OpenOffice.org, multimedia tools, an email client, collaboration and IM solutions designed for business users.

[9] HP Finally Offers Pre-Installed Desktop Linux

For years, HP has been slowly edging towards releasing a pre-installed Linux for general users. Today, December 10th, the company finally announced that it would be releasing Novell's SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 10 SP 2 on its low-priced business class HP Compaq dc5850.

This new desktop offering is aimed at SMB (small-to-medium sized businesses) and education users. Anyone interested in a Linux-powered work desktop, though, will be able to put the SLED-powered dc5850 to use. While HP would sell you desktop Linux on a business PC in the past, it had to be 'ordered.' Now, you'll be able to get it 'off-the-rack.'

[10] Novell, Hewlett-Packard Push SUSE Linux for Schools

Somewhat buried in a press release today, Hewlett-Packard announced a new desktop Linux PC as well as an ongoing effort with Novell to push desktop Linux into schools. Will solutions providers move Novell’s SUSE Linux to the head of the class? Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.

[11] With HP in, all OEMs now ship desktop Linux

I have known for more years than I care to think about that HP has been almost ready to release a pre-configured Linux desktop system. But, then, they wouldn't pull the trigger.

Now, they have. At long, long, one more time with feeling, last, HP is shipping Novell's SLED (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop) 10 SP2 on a business desktop: the HP Compaq dc5850

[12] HP to Ship Compaq Business PC with Pre Installed Suse Linux

HP today announced its plans to introduce Linux as an operating system choice for business desktop customers. After Dell, HP the leader in worldwide Linux server shipments and revenue, has introduced a new desktop offering with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell on the HP Compaq dc5850.

[13] HP Adds Some Open Source to the Desktop

Now that Dell is offering a range of open source desktop systems, HP has become the most important supplier wedded to Windows Vista. Its resistance to offering GNU/Linux there is rather ironic, since it was one of the pioneers in the GNU/Linux world nearly ten years ago. In January 1999 a press release stated:

[14] HP re-enters Linux desktop market with Suse PC

HP is also selling Linux netbooks, such as its upcoming HP Mini 1000 Mobile Internet Experience edition.

And Stevens said that colleagues in the mainstream notebook team at HP are "actively evaluating" whether to install Linux on laptops.

[15] HP Opens Up Open Source for Small Businesses

Come December 15th, HP will also offer Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop on its HP Compaq dc5850 model. The base SLED-equipped model will cost $519, and features the usual open source suspects for the small business setting -- OpenOffice, and mail clients such as Evolution. Additionally, HP and Novell are developing a repository for applications specific to educational settings. Many of the applications will be centered on students, but HP and Novell plan on incorporating school administration and instruction applications as well.

[16] HP adopts Novell's SuSe for new PC range

Hewlett-Packard is set to offer Novell's SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop bundle on one of its desktop PCs.

[...]

As far back as 2000, HP was offering Linux on workstation-class desktop PCs. It then made a major push for SLED desktops in 2004, and, a few months later, SLED laptops.

[17] HP adds Linux to lineup

HP is set to offer desktop computers with SuSE Linux preloaded.

[...]

HP joins Dell and Lenovo in offering Linux-based desktop machines, though the company has toyed with Linux previously. It was offering Linux-loaded desktops back in 2000, though it has not done so in recent years.

[18] HP Readies Linux Business Desktop

Hewlett-Packard plans to offer next week a business desktop pre-loaded with Linux and a number of open source desktop applications, including the OpenOffice.org productivity suite.

[19] HP Puts Linux On Their Desktop PCs Again

In a move that is sure to go down well with Linux enthusiasts, HP has decided to reenter the Linux desktop market with its expected launch of HP Compaq dc5850 in mid-December which comes preloaded with a SUSE Linux flavor.

[20] HP, Novell partner on new Linux PC that ships Dec 15

Novell has nailed similar OEM agreements with HP in the past. In April of 2004, for instance, HP launched its first Linux notebook running SLES.

[21] More Pre-installs, More Market Share

[22] HP expands virtual protection, desktop Linux offering

HP has announced the expansion of its virtualized browsing solution across select business desktop products and its plans to introduce Linux as an operating system choice for business desktop customers. The offerings are designed to help small businesses enhance their productivity and ease their management of technology. The first-of-its-kind Mozilla Firefox for HP Virtual Solution was developed with Symantec and Mozilla for HP customers.

[23] HP and Novell offer comprehensive Linux suite

HP and Novell are currently offering a SUSE Linux enterprise desktop suite on the HP Compaq dc5850.

The suite provides a number of applications, including a web browser, Open Office, multimedia tools and email software. HP is also collaborating with Novell to develop a range of educational software solutions such as math, art and word games.

There was one exception somewhere among the headlines. Matt Asay attacked desktop Linux, as usual. He is a self-professed Apple fan.

The company to be watching on the desktop is Google, not Novell, Red Hat, etc. The Linux desktop is already winning. It just happens to run in Google data centers, not your fancy new Suse-powered HP computer.

It's amusing how he says that the desktop does not matter whilst advocating Apple Macs (it has been getting worse recently). The hypocrisy is very sheer and he purports to be running CNET's 'open source' blog. CNET/Paul Allen... open source... it figures.

SLES

Matt Asay also wrote this bit about Red Hat and Novell.

Importantly, Novell jumped four places to claim fifth place in the the Software category. But for low customer loyalty scores and Novell would have gone higher in the rankings. Even so, it's a testament to the changes Novell has been making that it performed more strongly than Oracle, SAP, Salesforce.com, and other leading software vendors.

Red Hat, however, is in strong shape, perhaps particularly against Novell, as Sam Varghese writes in IT Wire, with a 92 percent loyalty rating with CIOs. CIO Insight suggests that Red Hat's "responsiveness to customers' needs engender[s] high loyalty levels." In a recession, Red Hat will need to depend on this loyalty to drive renewals and upsells.

Timothy Prickett Morgan wrote about OpenSolaris, but he mentioned Red Hat and Novell along the way.

Linux is popular, in part, because it is not only free, but distributed in a usable form and for the most recent hardware available on the market. So to compete with Linux, and to get an edge on other commercial Unixes (which are not open source or freely distributed), Sun Microsystems is emulating the distribution methods employed by the Fedora and openSUSE development communities, which create the code that eventually becomes the commercially supported releases from Red Hat and Novell, respectively.

The difference is this: Sun will actually support OpenSolaris in a commercial environment through paid support contracts, while neither Red Hat nor Novell do so with their development releases. (Ubuntu has a much more sensible approach, supporting all of its releases and offering long-term support for users who want to install the software and not mess with it much for a couple of years.)

A known Novell-friendly Web site seems to have just passed some unedited Novell PR about OES (belated too).

For the first time, customers can use Novell Open Enterprise Server to manage users and group policies through the Microsoft Management Console, thus simplifying administration, reducing costs, and leveraging their existing investment in Novell technology.

The most recent CCID figures are accompanied by a report that mentions Novell/Microsoft in China.

After two years of cooperation, Novell and Microsoft continue to promote mixed source solutions with a few successes among telecom-grade clients' recognition, such as Guangdong Mobile.

Linspire

Same old mess. More lawsuits and hostility. Kevin Carmony found a new career in litigation. ⬆