Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell News Summary - Part I: OpenSUSE and SUSE Amid Probable Takeover

Reptile on rock



Summary: News about Novell's GNU/Linux business, based on the past week alone

THE PAST week has been interesting because of the offer to buy Novell [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. For SUSE it has been a very quiet week, but someone marks this milestone of 10 years at Novell.

Working as a manager sometimes has not so nice days, but tomorrow it will be a really great day. Novell HR has asked me to celebrate a team members ten years anniversary with Novell. That means fun and a present since ten years is a long time, yes, quite a long time for IT industry.


Novell marks a similar 10-year anniversary with System z.

It is possible that SUSE will be passed on to another company after more than 6 years at Novell. Ted, who used to symbolise this project in a way, has been blogging about iPhone and Apple stuff recently; the old days of SUSE (before the Microsoft deal) are sorely missed.

Events



The OpenSUSE team writes about Connect, which gets its own subsite (connect.opensuse.org) and Stephan Kulow introduces http://software.opensuse.org/stage.

During the last openSUSE Conference we (Benji, Brent, Bryen, Francis, Michal, Petr, Stephen and me) had a brainstorming meeting about social aspects of our community. We were able to come up with lots of ideas and I want to thank all of you for your participation!

[...]

I created a Tog application, ported all anonymously visible pages to our Bento theme and finally deployed it on connect.opensuse.org address, so you can look at it. In the end we would like to replace the old users.opensuse.org application with Connect and make it a new central place for users.


One other member writes about OpenSUSE in Google Summer of Code 2010.

The wonderful Vincent has already sent the initial call for participation, so who’s up for it then?

OK I’ll take it that there are several hands raised in the audience (I reckon I’m being overly cautious, I’m sure there are loads of hands up but as I don’t have my glasses on I can only see the first two rows). So what do we need from our lovely community to help make GSoC 2010 a success?


OpenSUSE participates in this every year.

Releases



OpenSUSE-LXDE is under development and the last part of the Techsnap review of OpenSUSE 11.2 was posted a few days ago.



Novell's OpenSUSE Milestone was also mentioned in this news video (Linux News Log #1009).

Technical



There was a fair deal of stuff about KDE4 in OpenSUSE [1. 2, 3], including the latest KDE Four Live, which is based on OpenSUSE.

There were some OpenSUSE-specific HOWTOs out there [1, 2, 3, 4] and something about Factory:

If anyone has been following my tweets/dents, you will have noticed that I sporadically mention something about "Operation Factory" followed by a pile of tags. Well for the curious, Operation Factory is basically getting the latest and greatest Moblin into openSUSE.


The latest build of OpenOffice.org 3.2.1 (which is in alpha) has come to OpenSUSE and Skype is available too, although it's not trivial to install in 64-bit.

SUSE (SLES/SLED)



On the business side, Novell gets SUSE mentioned in a few places in the press. Novell is mentioned in the following video about IBM's eX5 System X Servers.



Another new video about eX5 System X Servers is all about Novell.



HP will preinstall SLED on some more computers (as an option), but it's a shame that there is no option of a distro that's not Ballnux.

HP also announced four models in its middle of the road Probook series, which it says comes in "sophisticated" colours. Colour choice aside, the most interesting feature of these is that they can be pre-installed with SuSE Enterprise Linux.

All the models HP launched today feature Daystarter, a preboot screen that allows you to view things like your calendar and battery life while booting into Windows. However with SSDs and the option of Linux it isn't the time taken to get past the splash screen that HP should look to reduce but rather the time taken to load all the pre-installed junk once you've made it into Windows.


From The Register:

The EliteBooks come with Microsoft's Windows 7 Professional, Windows XP (tablet edition where appropriate), Windows Vista Business, or FreeDOS pre-installed. Windows 7 Home Premium and Vista Enterprise are supported, and Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is certified to run on the machines, but it's not pre-installed. HP is also tossing on a trial version of its SkyRoom high-def video conferencing software onto the new EliteBooks.


More on HP:

“We have been offering multi-vendor support solutions to our customers,” says Dionne Morgan, worldwide solutions marketing manager for HP’s Technology Services group. “In addition to IBM and Dell servers, we also now support Sun servers and Sun Solaris 10 for HP ProLiant servers. And for HP Integrity servers we’re now supporting Novell, SUSE Linux and Microsoft Windows Server 2008.”


Red Hat is, oddly enough, missing. It's Ballnux only (taxed by Microsoft) and Microsoft still wants Novell's customers or at least their inexplicable "Linux tax":

He reckoned customers will be wooed away from IBM and Novell towards Microsoft, once its on-line offerings are up are running.


A backup appliance from SEP turns out to be running SLE* too:

Initially made available to only a select group of its customers early last month, SEP's backup appliance, powered by SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell, is now officially available. Carlos Montero-Luque, vice president of Business and Product Management at Novell said that "The SUSE Appliance Program enables SEP and other ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) to quickly configure and customise software and virtual appliances".


A lot of SUSE content can be found in the OpenSUSE audiocast and this new episode of the audiocast from Tux Radar where they make some fun of Mono being a flame-worthy package. They express some disappointment with the Studio project that Novell still brags about it.

In this episode: Version 2.6.33 of the Linux kernel is here and it includes a new 3D accelerated Nvidia graphics driver. Canonical's online music store will only provide MP3 files, and Apple sues Android partner, HTC. We report back on our experiences with SUSE Studio and answer our critics in the Closed Ballot.


This was an interesting episode, as always.

It has generally been quiet for SUSE developers, but there are some more items to be found in Weekly News.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Backlash and Negative Press After Microsoft Tells Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) People to DIE
Follow-up stories
Censorship as Signal of Opportunity for Reform
It remains sad and ironic that Wikileaks outsourced so much of its official communications to Twitter (now X)
The World Wide Web Has Been Rotting for Years (Quality, Accuracy, and Depth Consistently Decreasing)
In the past people said that the Web had both "good" and "bad" and that the good outweighed the bad
Comoros: Windows Plunges to Record Low of About 6% in Country of a Million People (in 2010 Windows Was 100%)
Many of these people earn a few dollars a day; they don't care for Microsoft's "Hey Hi PC" hype
The Mail (MX) Server Survey for July 2024 Shows Microsoft Collapsing to Only 689 Servers or 0.17% of the Whole (It Used to be About 25%)
Microsoft became so insignificant and the most astounding thing is how the media deliberate ignores it or refuses to cover it
Windows Down From 98.5% to 22.9% in Hungary
Android is up because more people buy smaller mobile devices than laptops
Microsoft Windows in Algeria: From 100% to Less Than 15%
Notice that not too long ago Windows was measured at 100%. Now? Not even 15%.
Microsoft Windows "Market Share" in New Zealand Plunges to 25%
Android rising
SUSE Goes Aryan: You May Not Use the Germanic Brand Anymore (It's Monopolised by the Corporation)
Worse than grammar Nazis
Gratis But Not Free as in Freedom: How Let's Encrypt is Dying in Geminispace
Let's Encrypt is somewhat of a dying breed where the misguided CA model is shunned
 
Microsoft's Bing Falls to Fourth in the Europe/Asia-Based Turkey, Share Halved Since LLM Hype, Now Only 1% (Sometimes Less)
Turkey (Eurasia) is another example of Microsoft failing with LLM hype and just burning a lot of energy in vain (investment without returns)
Red Hat Keeps Behaving Like a Microsoft Reseller (for Proprietary Stuff!), Microsoft Employees as Authors in redhat.com
In some ways this reminds us of Novell
UEFI 'Secure Boot' Once Again Bricking PCs and Fake Security Models Are Perishing in Geminispace
Let's Encrypt has just fallen again
Links 17/07/2024: New Attacks on the Press, European Patents Squashed Even at Kangaroo Court (UPC)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/07/2024: Proponents of Censorship and New Arrivals at Gemini
Links for the day
Links 17/07/2024: School Budget Meltdown and Modern Cars as Tracking Nightmares
Links for the day
This Should Certainly be Illegal, But the Person Who Helped Microsoft Do This is Still Attacking the Critics of It
perhaps time for an "I told you so post"
[Meme] A Computer With an Extra Key on the Keyboard Isn't Everyone's Priority
(so your telling me meme)
Africa as an Important Reminder That Eradicating Microsoft Doesn't Go Far Enough
Ideally, if our top goal is bigger than "get rid of Microsoft", we need to teach people to choose and use devices that obey them, not GAFAM
Billions of Computers Run Linux and Many Use Debian (or a Derivative of It)
many devices never get updated or even communicate with the Net, so exhaustive tallies are infeasible
[Meme] Microsoft is Firing
Don't worry, Microsoft will have some new vapourware coming soon
More DEI (or Similar) Layoffs on the Way, According to Microsoft Team Leader
What happened shortly before Independence Day wasn't the end of it, apparently
[Meme] Many Volunteers Now Realise the "Open" in "OpenSUSE" or "openSUSE" Was Labour-Mining
Back to coding, packaging and testing, slaves
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, July 16, 2024
IRC logs for Tuesday, July 16, 2024
[Meme] Ein Factory
A choice between "masters" (or "master race") is a false choice that results in mass exploitation and ultimately eradication (when there's little left to exploit)
Links 17/07/2024: Open Source Initiative Lies and Dark Net Thoughts
Links for the day
Media Distorting Truth to Promote Ignorance
online media is rapidly collapsing
Android Rises to New Highs of Almost 80% in Cameroon
How many dozens of nations will see Windows at under 10% this coming winter?
Links 16/07/2024: TikTok Ban in Europe and Yandex Split
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/07/2024: On Packrafting and on Trump Shot
Links for the day
[Meme] Firefox Users Who Think They Know Better Than Mozilla
Enjoy Firebook
Firefox Used to Have About Half the Market in Switzerland, But It Doesn't Stand a Chance Anymore (Chrome Surging This Summer)
Mozilla has managed to alienate some of the biggest fans of Firefox
Microsoft's Biggest Losses Are in Europe This Summer
Microsoft's ability to milk a relatively rich Europe is fast diminishing
How to Make Software Suck and Discriminate Against People at the Same Time
ageism glorified
Bing Was at 2.6% in Russia When LLM Hype Started. Now It's Down to 0.8% (for 3 Months in a Row Already)
The sharp fall of Bing may mean that exiting the Russian market won't matter to anybody
[Meme] Microsoft Seems to be Failing to Comply With WARN Act (by Refusing to Announce Mass Layoffs as They Happen)
since when does Microsoft obey the law anyway?
Microsoft Layoffs Are Still Too Frequent to Keep Abreast of and Properly (or Exhaustively) Classify
The "HR" department knows what's happening, but whistleblowers from there are rare
Bahamas Joined the "5% Windows" Club
statCounter only traces back about 1 in 20 Web requests to Windows
Links 16/07/2024: Salesforce Layoffs and Microsoft's DMARC Fail
Links for the day
Antenna Abuse and Gemini Abuse (Self-hosting Perils)
Perhaps all this junk is a sign of Gemini growing up
Possibly Worse Than Bribes: US Politicians and Lawmakers Who Are Microsoft Shareholders
They will keep bailing out Microsoft to bail themselves out
The Software Freedom Conservancy Folks Don't Even Believe in Free Speech and They Act As Imposters (Also in the Trademark Arena/Sense)
Software Freedom Conservancy was already establishing a reputation for itself as a G(I)AFAM censor/gatekeeper
Djibouti Enters the Windows "10% Club" (Windows Was 99% in 2010)
In Africa in general Microsoft lost control
GNU/Linux Share Doubled in the United States of America (USA) in the Past 12 Months
Or so says statCounter
Even in North Korea (Democratic People's Republic Of Korea) Google Said to Dominate, Microsoft Around 1%
Google at 93.26%
[Meme] The Red Bait (Embrace... Extinguish)
They set centos on fire, then offer a (de facto) proprietary substitute for a fee
Shooting the Messenger to Spite the Message
segment of a Noam Chomsky talk
[Video] Boston Area Assange Defense (Yesterday)
It was published only hours ago
Guinea: Windows Down From 99.3% to 2.7% 'Market Share'
Guinea is not a small country
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, July 15, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, July 15, 2024
What's Meant by "Antenna Abuse" (Gemini)
syndication is not a monopoly in Gemini and if one doesn't condone political censorship, then one can create one's own syndication service/capsule
Microsoft Layoffs and Entire Unit Termination: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
What an announcement to make just before Independence Day
Links 16/07/2024: Old Computer Challenge and One Page Dungeon Contest
Links for the day
Microsoft Falls Further and Closer Towards 10% (Windows "Market Share") in Kuwait
more countries entering the "single-digit Windows" (under 10%) club
Gemini Links 15/07/2024: Antenna's Pro-Hamas Bias Revisited and Old Computer Challenge
Links for the day
[Video] Julian Assange, Over One Decade Ago, Cautioning About What the Internet Had Truly Become
video is not new
Homage to Malta
Malta is probably easy for Microsoft to bribe
IRC at 16
Logging has been used for us and against us
In Malta, Android/Linux Has Overtaken Microsoft Windows (According to statCounter)
statCounter milestone?
Links 15/07/2024: China’s Economic Problems, Boeing Under Fire
Links for the day
500 Days' Uptime Very Soon
Good luck doing that with Windows...
Windows Falls Below 20% in Tunisia
A month ago we wrote about GNU/Linux in Tunisia
Links 15/07/2024: Google Wants Wiz and Why "Sports Ruin Everything"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/07/2024: Old Computer Challenge and Sending Files via NNCP
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, July 14, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, July 14, 2024