Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell News Summary - Part II: Virtualisation, GWAVACon, GroupWise and More

Finance



NOVELL'S financial results for this quarter are due in about a fortnight and it seems likely that Novell will announce layoffs around this time.

Novell, Inc. (NASDAQ: NOVL) will issue a press release providing an overview of financial results for its first fiscal quarter 2009 on Thursday, February 26, 2009, at 4 pm ET.




Virtualisation



When Novell does not help Microsoft distort the virtualisation market it quite successfully works with some other products and companies. Here is one example about Xenocode.

And Xenocode-virtualized applications can be deployed over the Internet, intranets, USB devices, and existing desktop management infrastructure. The technology was even licensed by Novell back in September of 2008 and is being leveraged in Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization.


On ZENworks and Xenocode:

I should note that my previous work with these tools showed that the method of enabling interaction between otherwise separated applications is a useful distinguishing point that is well worth adding to your evaluation criteria. The last time I looked, Novell's ZENworks Application Virtualization (actually Xenocode's product family) did this the best.


We've mentioned Xenocode in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Here is some more information about Novell and VMware:

VMware on Tuesday announced VMware View Open Client and claimed that it advances its vClient Initiative toward universal clients.

The new software, available under the GNU Lesser GPL 2.1, enables IT to host and manage user desktops in the datacenter, and lets partners use the source code to tailor and optimize devices for creating virtual desktop solutions, the company said.

[...]

VMware View Open Client features secure tunneling via SSL, two-factor authentication in the form of RSA SecurID, Novell SLETC Add-on RPM package, and a command-line interface.


Also on VMware:

VMware has released an open source virtual desktop infrastructure client, aiming to make it easy for partners to build their own applications or devices around its code. The goal eventually is to make possible a "universal client" that will support multiple environments.

[...]

Some of the features included in this release support secure tunneling using SSL, two-factor authentication with RSA SecurID, Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Thin Client Add-On RPM package and a full command line interface.


Mail



GWAVACon ended very quietly (almost too quietly) and here is a press release that came from there.

GWAVA, Novell's largest collaboration partner, announced today at GWAVACon in Las Vegas the availability of Reload 3, the latest version of the top selling disaster recovery and backup solution for Novell GroupWise. The new version focuses on speed of data collection and recovery in times of crisis.


Novell has a hard time denying the demise of GroupWise, which will soon get a lift from iPhone.

For those of you not using and iPhone, this also means you can sync to on supported devices too, such as the Palm Centro, Palm Pre, Palm Treo Pro and other Windows Mobile devices and Symbian OS.


Adium turns out to have GroupWise messaging support as well.

Final verdict: Although it supports several messaging protocols (including the corporate environment networks Novell GroupWise and Lotus Sametime), Adium lacks webcam conferencing.


On GroupWise migrations:

"The data stays on-site at corporate headquarters, but management of that server takes place by Azaleos. We take the headache out of the product, but do not force the customer to push the data up into the cloud," Gode said. "The other thing we get are customers looking to migrate from a [lower] level of Exchange, 2000 or 2003, to 2007. As part of that migration, they don't want to do it themselves. Or they're migrating from [Novell] GroupWise or [Lotus] Notes and they don't want to do it or they don't have the expertise in-house. They don't want to hire or train for Exchange," Gode said.


Security



The serious security problems in GroupWise were already mentioned last week [1, 2], but here are some more details.

Novell has released updates for GroupWise to close a number of vulnerabilities. One critical issue is a buffer overflow in the GroupWise Internet Agent (GWIA), which can be manipulated to allow the injection and execution of code. Other updates close issues with cross-site scripting, Cross-Site Request Forgery and Script Insertion gaps.


There was also a SUSE issue.

Identity Management



Novell found a client in Johnsonville Sausage (also published here and here). Well, it's better than Sesame Street [1, 2, 3], right?

Wisconsin-based Johnsonville Sausage, the number-one national brand of brats, Italian sausage, smoked-cooked links and fresh breakfast sausage links, has implemented Novell€® identity and endpoint management solutions to achieve a single point of control for thousands of employee and partner digital identities and more than 600 desktop systems. By automating identity management with Novell solutions, Johnsonville Sausage has reduced user management time and costs by 80 percent.


People



Based on this news report, SiCortex turns up to be headed by a former Novell executive, so in case SiCortex and Novell make some deal in the future, it's worth bearing in mind.

SiCortex has 84 employees and is headed up by CEO Chris Stone, a former Novell executive responsible for engineering and product management from 2002 to 2004.


Novell and SiteScape are close [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9] and their link is explained in the following new article:

The initial reception for the tags has been positive, particularly in the aerospace and defense industries, according to Tego founder and CEO Timothy Butler, who also founded collaboration software maker SiteScape Inc. in Maynard, which was sold to Novell Inc. in 2007. Airplane manufacturers Airbus SAS and Boeing Co. are in the process of evaluating the tags, according to Butler, though he declined to discuss the details of the relationships. The Department of Defense has also expressed interest in the company’s system, he said.


Partners



Here is another technical umbrella that has Novell underneath it:

OASIS Approves 9 New Web Services Standards



[...]

Among the organizations involved in approving the standards were IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Adobe, BMC, CA, Intel, Nokia, Novell, Progress Software, Red Hat, SAP, SOA Software, Software, TIBCO, VeriSign and the U.S. Veterans Health Administration.


Marketing



This video has just shown up in YouTube.



Enjoy.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Congrats to Linux.org for Adopting or Getting Back to IRC
This is the way the Net ought to work and was originally designed to work [...] IRC as a protocol turns 38 this month
 
SLAPP Censorship - Part 161 Out of 200: Low Standards in Defamation Cases Just Muddy the Waters and Distract From Legitimate Cases
The judge at the trial said that Garrett's case was a waste of the court's money
Rolling Out Some Changes Soon
To the regular reader no change will be seen
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, August 24, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, August 24, 2026
Gemini Links 25/08/2026: Separated by Plexiglass, Low-Tech Information Networks, Jörg Rippel Comes to Geminispace
Links for the day
The Tragedy of Software Developers Making Up Narratives and Making Excuses for Plagiarism (of Their Own Work, Too)
one lingering issue is that many who vote in Debian GRs receive money from slop companies
Evri Makes Us Optimistic About the Collapse of the Slop Pyramid Scheme (Bubble)
Do not be seduced by false promises of "automation" or "intelligence" where only automation may exist but no intelligence at all
Links 24/08/2026: "Journalism Can Help Expose Bad Science And Trigger Real-World Change"; Further Suppression and Censorship in China/HK
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/08/2026: Soul Mentality, Words to Live by, Mozz.us Gemlog Resumes, Smol Conversations
Links for the day
Today The Register MS Published Greenwashing Spam for the Slop Pyramid Scheme, It Mentions "AI" 29 Times
More people need to talk about the role of the media in this pyramid scheme
Slop Plagiarism and Chatbots Are Killing Evri (They Infuriate and Insult Clients)
Slop destroys companies and leads to misery (miserable clients, time-wasting)
Links 24/08/2026: Re-defining the IndieWeb and "Data Center Backlash Bursts Into the Midterms"
Links for the day
The Issue With Omarchy is the Slop, the Politics Are a Side Issue
Those corporations do not oppose slop, they participate in it
In South Korea, Steady Increases for GNU/Linux
authorities said they would migrate to GNU/Linux or consider moving in that direction
SLAPP Censorship - Part 160 Out of 200: In Astounding Repetition of Last Year, Brett Wilson LLP Deliberately Ignores Holidays of People It is Attacking and Crushes Principles of Access to Justice
Disconnected from the law
Links 24/08/2026: Vision and Skill, Doing Good, Chiperia Project
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 23, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, August 23, 2026
Gemini Links 23/08/2026: Turning 60, PineTime, and Simulation Hypothesis
Links for the day
Will Your "Modern" New Car Still be on the Road in 2060?
Are people now expected to change a car as often as they replace a mobile phone and, if so, how fast would costs add up?
The Sniff Test
Be sceptical of "CoCs"
Cloudflare Sees a Quarter of Requests in China Coming From GNU/Linux Today
Will 23% ever be the average for GNU/Linux rather than a mere peak?
You Can Lose Some Battles and Still Win the War
Winning or losing isn't something for a scoreboard
GNU/Linux Usage Measured at 23% in Russia Today
the average was almost 10%
Things Not to Fear Missing Out on
Life is too short to pay attention to social control media
Gemini Links 23/08/2026: Exercising Again, Tackling Phone Addiction, and Putting Graal Online Back Online
Links for the day
Northern Africa: GNU/Linux Measured at Around 5%
by Clownflare
PIPs and Lawsuits: On the Future of IBM Trying to Spit Out Its Own Staff at Minimal Cost
"I'd rather be laid off than be put on a PIP"
France: GNU/Linux Averaging at 7%, Peaked at 14% Today
When will 14% be the average?
Links 23/08/2026: Water Crises, Illegal Tariffs, and Carney Confronts US Over Patent Imperialism
Links for the day
Links 23/08/2026: Slop "Children's Stories Contain Bizarre Patterns" and "Butterflies at the One Garden"
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 159 Out of 200: Telling Courts False Information and Spoon-feeding Them Insults, Hoping or Expecting Them to Repeat These Insults
When lawyers trick courts into repeating something false
Microsoft is in Double Trouble in Singapore
Android+GNU/Linux+ChromeOS are near 20%
The Slop Industry Bribed the Media to Pretend It Has Something New and Revolutionary. Now It Bribes Politicians Too. Anything to Avoid Scrutiny and Regulation.
borrowed money has long been used to bribe the media
"AGI" is Decades Old and It Never Found a Viable Business Model or Real, Actually Useful Use Cases
I keep reminding people of local firms (right here in Manchester) doing the same thing the media now calls "AGI"...
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 22, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, August 22, 2026
Microsoft to Its Workers in April-May: You're Too Old, Go Away. Microsoft in August: Young People, Go Away.
What does this company even sell anymore?
Clownflare Data US-Centric
We are assuming that for national security reasons not many sites in Chinese (or based in China) outsource their traffic to Clownflare
Gemini Links 22/08/2026: Broken Car, Devuan, and Thundermail
Links for the day