There is a fundamental difference between companies such as Red Hat and a company such as Novell. It is important to remember that:

1. Novell neither came from an Open Source background, nor did it meet its initial success in Open Source software (summoning SuSE with IBM's assistance and encouraging instead)



2. While making a 180 transition, Novell relies on proprietary software to sustain its revenue streams



3. Novell has established relationships with various proprietary software vendors over the years



4. The mentality among Novell staff is in a state of change, stimulated by an evolution in business models



5. No matter how well it markets and sells Linux, Novell expects implosion as profits from legacy technologies decline. Morale is affected by delation, rather than inflation, or prospects of unprecedented expansion. Sun Microsystems could attest to that experience. It has just become a funding patron for the Free Software foundation. How times change.

In a sense, it is difficult to blame Novell for doing business in the way it is accustomed to doing business. A barrier in perception and approach is perhaps to blame here. It appears as though, at times, Novell expressed repressed doubt and regrets over the deal. This sentiment, however, depends on the employees and subjects at hand, e.g. marketing versus technical developers, manager versus newly-hired programmer, enterprise customer versus enthusiastic Opensuse user.

Let us hope that Novell can regain balance and learn to assimilate to those winning affection -- rather than hostility -- from the Free Software community. Until their change their ways, boycott Novell and choose other products. Pressure them where it hurts -- the wallet.