Bonum Certa Men Certa

One Year Later: ”Novell: From hero to zero in sixty seconds...”

Blasting insight from the past

In an attempt to find an old post about Novell (covering Novell's pulling of Windows-antagonising adverts from its Web site), the following old USENET post emerged. It was never filed here and perhaps it should. It was posted just 2 days after the Novell/Microsoft had been signed.




Message-ID: [pan.2006.11.04.19.28.22.579976@invalid.com] From: casual observer [no_one@invalid.com] Subject: Novell: From hero to zero in sixty seconds... Date: Sat, 04 Nov 2006 12:28:22 -0700

Novell as HERO: SCO vs. Novell



At the beginning of the week, Novell appeared to be a big hero in the GNU/Linux community. They have been a hero by standing up to the big bully, SCO Group. Their actions have been key factors and are now legend because these cases have dragged on for so long. Their request for summary judgment that will force SCO cough up Novell's 95% share of their Microsoft/Sun "license" fees. This ruling will most likely be ordered by the court shortly. This will effectively erase the very existece of SCO as a viable business entity. Novell's actions in this arena created a stock of community good will which soared to great heights. Here-to-fore Novell would not be bullied by their next door neighbor.

Novell as HERO: Owner of the respected Suse Linux distribution Also, at the beginning of the week, Novell was the respected owner of one of the leading GNU/Linux distributions. Novell obtained instant "street credibility" by acquiring Suse Linux. This showed that Novell thought GNU/Linux was now ready for "prime time" and could be used to replace their aging Netware offering. Suse Linux made Novell a player in the desktop software market as companies began looking for a more secure, virus and spyware free OS.

They also seemed to have a viable business strategy to make free software pay. Their business model which relies on a revenue stream from paid-only, end-user support contract is easily understood. No one expects free support, even when the GPL itself guarantees free software. The bonus is that this model gives a bottom line that Wall Street understands, too: more support contracts equals higher company profits. The model is not unique- RedHat, Oracle, IBM, and others all "get" that the biggest "value added" component is through the direct support they provide.

Novell as ZERO: Announces "collabrative" deal with Microsoft.



All of their positive actions are erased. They are taken off the board in one fell swoop. Ray Noorda must be rolling over in his grave. The deal with Bill "pearly" Gates and Steve "The Embalmer" Ballmer came close enough to Halloween that it should have evoked memories of Halloweens past, or possibly "Halloween Memos" past. It is a sure bet that something unholy is going down whenever you make a deal with the devil. Even their "corporate memory" seemed to be conveniently offline in the last week. They apparently forgot that NT supplanted Netware and MS Word supplanted WordPerfect, erasing vast sums from Novell's bottom line. They think they can trust MS this time. Lucy will let Charlie Brown kick the ball this time, too.

Novell as ZERO: Novell the new FUD puppet



Microsoft needed a new shill now, especially now that SCO is winding down, without the result that Microsoft intended. Oddly, Novell appears happy to replace SCO as Microsoft's new chief puppet. Hovespin shouldn't complain when Steve pulls the marionette strings.

”Microsoft needed a new shill now, especially now that SCO is winding down, without the result that Microsoft intended.“Ballmer's promise not to sue Suse users, smells of the vaporware MS is famous for. If patents are being infringed, then MS should state their case and objections with specificity. SCO has had years to do so, and has shown nothing. Clearly, all this is all vapor and the latest FUD offering from MS with no legal basis. You can bet that if there was any way to lock out Samba, it would have done been done long before now. It could be that some of restraints placed on convicted monopolists are partly effective in tying the offenders hands. It's too late now. The statute of limitation control, if nothing else. The large legal staff at MS has informed Steve that FUD is the only card that can be played. MS gets a bonus that they can use with the European commission,

Baller to EU: "Don't fine us. We're cooperating with Linux." [Holds up Novell contract.]

Novell as ZERO: Loss of community good will.



Hovespin should have sat down with the CEO of EV1servers.net if the GNU/Linux community is capable of generating a backlash. If you need paid support, and your internal support offerings are inadequate for your needs, then look at the offerings from RedHat! Personally, I wouldn't touch Novell's offerings with the proverbial ten foot pole. Wall Street eventually will notice there has been a significant loss of good will toward the company when their bottom line plummets.

Final Word: The GPL gives users freedoms which cannot be revoked, or traded away.

http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt




Not much has changed since then. It was also quite prophetic.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Men Who Abuse Women Should Never Spend Over 3 Years of the UK High Court's Time
This demonstrates that we need a reform in the UK
The UEFI Restricted Boot 'Time Bomb' is About to Go Off in a Few Weeks
Garrett was the first person to face sanctions (like muting) in our IRC channels because of his abuse; worse yet, he hijacked other people's names and then locked them out of their own accounts
 
Father of Julian Assange Said the US Government Was Trying to Bankrupt WikiLeaks, Now the Assange Family Promotes Fake Currencies
Using the name for bad purposes?
Bailing Out GAFAM, Giving Taxpayers' Money to Failing Companies, and Trying to Outlaw Lawsuits Against Them
What would the late Lincoln have said?
Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC) Inc. Lost 2 Million Dollars Last Year and Its Chief Took a Salary Increase of Almost $6,000
Another year or two like this... and the SFC will be bankrupt [...] Hallmark of mismanagement
The "New Techrights" Turns Two Very Soon
Accomplishing something each year is what's important, not merely "finishing" another year
Gulf Nations Leave Microsoft Behind
How much lower will Microsoft stoop in an effort to raise money from oil-rich lenders?
How to Combat IRC Trolls (in Our Experience)
Today I want to share my experience (or knowledge) of how to deal with IRC trolls
The Register MS Needs to Stop Participating in the "Hey Hi" (AI) Hype, But It Gets Paid to Participate in This Hype
the publisher (The Register MS) wants to have it both ways
Gemini Links 24/08/2025: Living With Your Parents, Zürich Zoo, and Macondo
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, August 24, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, August 24, 2025
Gemini Links 24/08/2025: Signal on OpenBSD and Keyboard Layouts Compared
Links for the day
Links 24/08/2025: Microsoft Settles Data Breach Lawsuits and Climate Change Causes Heatwaves, Water Shortages
Links for the day
CachyOS is Rising Fast, But Slopfarms Are 'Googlebombing' It
CachyOS receives more media attention
No Reason for Red Hat Relief Yet (Layoff Rumours)
the execution could be stalled, delayed, or scheduled for some time after people come back from holiday
GNU/Linux 6%, Windows 60% in Venezuela, Suggests statCounter
The cash cows are dying
Mass Layoffs Continue at Microsoft This Month (Remaining Workers See Conditions That Deteriorate)
So far this month (one week remaining) we saw at least two waves of layoffs at Microsoft
How SPAM E-mails With Windows-Centric Files Get Twisted as Linux Threats, Then Slopfarms Spread the Word
Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt/Fear-mongering/Dramatisation
Links 24/08/2025: Heatwaves Threaten Workers, Maldives Versus Press freedom
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/08/2025: Digital Cameras and Printers
Links for the day
Links 24/08/2025: GAFAM Lie About Pollution and Slop's Carbon Footprint, The Guardian Says Slop ("Hey Hi") is a Bubble That Will Send Stock Markets Into a Freefall
Links for the day
80% of the Sponsored (Fake) Articles in The Register MS Are Promotions of Ponzi Schemes (Unethical Money), the Rest is Banned Chinese Business
Is that an ethical way to make money? No.
Should Currys PCWorld Start Voiding Warranties of Users of Vista 11?
If a person's laptop has a mechanical issue, should this person replace GNU/Linux with Vista 11 for the repair shop? Only to damage the SSD?
Newer is Not Always Better, and It's Possible That 'Peak' is the Past
People creating their own platforms means progress, whereas centralisation (like moving from blogs to social control media) is the opposite of progress
LLM Hype is Sowing Destruction: It Contributes to DDoS Attacks and Makes the Web Less Accessible (JavaScript "R U Human?" Tests)
If it was googlebot, it would be possible to argue that you'd at least then get referral traffic from Google Search. With LLMs, all you get is plagiarised.
Links 24/08/2025: New York Times Talks About Hey Hi (AI) Bubble
Links for the day
Gemini Links 24/08/2025: Upgrading Debian and Mobile-indifferent Design
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, August 23, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, August 23, 2025
Richard Stallman's Talk in Buenos Aires Scheduled for 16 November 2025 (a Month After FSF Turns 40)
they've just updated their site and Stallman is listed first
Nobody is "Replaced by AI", It's Just a Smokescreen for Jobs Being Eliminated by Lack of Money (Too Much Debt) and Offshoring
It's also why many make the jokes about the "I" in "AI" being "India" or "Indians"
Slopwatch: Linux Journal, WebProNews, LinuxSecurity, and the Serial Slopper
The bubble needs to burst, but even then the Web will be left with residues of these slopfarms
Links 23/08/2025: Science, War, and Important Win for the British Media Against SLAPPers Who Abuse Women
Links for the day
Gemini Links 23/08/2025: BaseLibre Numerical System and Back to Oldschool
Links for the day
"Deserved Victory" for "Women That Suffered"
"GNM defended its reporting as being both true and in the public interest and in a judgment on Friday"
The US Government is Now in the Business (Literally!) of Saving Microsoft and Intel
This means that President TACO/Cheeto now has greater financial incentive to also prop up Microsoft and Windows
Links 23/08/2025: onmicrosoft.com as Spam Cannon, The Cheeto-Intel Deal Is Official
Links for the day
Wired Complained About LLM Slop Only Days Before It Got Caught Doing That Itself
Never throw stones in a glass house
IBM "Value" Down 14.16% in a Month, Red Hat Layoffs Allegedly Discussed 12 Days Ago
"IBM is a dinosaur. Dinosaurs get extinct when the don't keep up."
We're Seeing More Countries Where Windows Isn't Even in Second Place Anymore (Third or Worse)
In a way, Microsoft can barely even hold onto second place anymore
Microsoft Workers on Canonical's Payroll
If you want something that's sort of like Ubuntu but is not controlled by Canonical, then look into Linux Mint, Debian, or LMDE
GNU/Linux Climbs to 4% in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone isn't a very rich country (to say the least), but it's better off than some of its neighbours
The SLAPPS Run Out of Oxygen Because They're Abuse of Process
At the end of the day we plan to publish over 1,000 articles explaining what happened
The Register MS Gets Paid by the Employer of the Previous Editor in Chief to Promote the "AI" Ponzi Scheme, Which Does Considerable Damage to the Web and to Online Journalists
The Register MS can 'badmouth' slop all it wants; it gets paid to inflate this bubble. It's actively participating in it.
Soon It'll be Autumn, Time to Repair Things
Where they don't charge an arm and a leg
Doing Our Best to Cover Software Patents When the Mainstream Media Does Not
Even the FSF has its limits
Gemini Links 23/08/2025: August Questions and Network Solutions
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, August 22, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, August 22, 2025