We have collected a bunch of recent news items. You might find some of them informative.

Sun dismisses the possibility of acquiring Novell, which was just a rumour or far-fetched speculation.

Sun Pushes Profit Sustainability

The other likely use of the funds would be for acquisitions, although Schwartz shot down recent rumors of a potential Novell acquisition.

"We're not going to go out and buy Novell," Schwartz said.

It is rather ironic that we defended Novell when a Reuters reporter, as well as a flock following him, spread anti-Novell and anti-linux disinformation. The situation is explained fairly well by the following article.

Novell Feels Open-Source Steam

In the worst case, Novell would have to spend as much as $200 million a year to write and market its own software instead of relying on the thousands of programmers who currently contribute code to Novell and other companies at no charge, says Trip Chowdhry, managing director of Global Equities Research.

A crippled Novell, which is already struggling to gain traction with Linux, would fall even further behind Red Hat, its major rival.

A new version of the general license, or GPL 3, due in March, will likely stop Novell from distributing 95% of any new Linux-related code developed after it takes effect, and that, says Chowdhry, "will pretty much wipe out any gains that Novell may have gotten from upfront payments from Microsoft."

A few days ago, Novell announced the availability of Sentinel and Identity Manager.

Novell Previews Next-Generation Identity and Security Management Solutions

New Releases of Sentinel and Identity Manager Underscore Novell's Ongoing Innovation and Leadership

Novell today announced that it is previewing enhancements to its flagship security and identity management solutions, Sentinel(TM) 6 and Identity Manager 3.5, at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. Demonstrating Novell's innovation and market leadership, these product releases will showcase new features and enhanced capabilities to help customers ensure security and compliance. When deployed together, both products deliver the industry's most complete

Last but not least, the leader of Opensuse addresses, answers, and even tackles some tough questions in an interview.

Interview with Andreas Jaeger

What would you change about the Novell/Microsoft deal if you had the chance?

Andreas Jaeger: Better ask me what I suggest to change in the US patent system regarding software patents ;-)