Novell's mainframe stories were covered here last week, but there is some further analysis at ITJungle, which is always a week or two behind.

That's why commercial Linux distributor Novell has teamed up with Sine Nomine Associates to make Linux easier to install on mainframes.

According to Justin Steinman, director of marketing for Linux and open platform solutions at Novell, the company chose to work with SNA for two reasons. First, SNA is a company that has a lot of mainframe expertise as well as experience with open source operating systems and their use on mainframes.

Novell highlights an identity management win in the far east.

Read more about how the National Northern University in China and the National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan are using Novell’s identity and security management solutions.

We have about 20 days before the next press release which discusses Novell's financial performance.

Novell, Inc. will issue a press release providing an overview of financial results for its first fiscal quarter of 2008 on Thursday, February 28, 2008 at 4pm ET.

In India, Novell was reached for a comment relating to GNU/Linux and healthcare.

P K Mishra, consulting architect of Novell India, said open source technology under the Linux platform could provide solutions like imaging, visualisation, signal-processing, bio-surveillance for an integrated health care management.

Novell's ZENworks received some attention over at NetworkWorld.

Novell's ZENworks 10 Configuration Management is a solid, mature desktop manager with several useful features, including asset inventory, license tracking, configuration management, application deployment and remote control. However, ZENworks lacked management capabilities for virtual machines and USB ports.

Some further coverage of Novell appears in this blog that we typically have blacklisted.

A couple of notes: First, Novell is developing software like what Hovsepian is describing, so take his prognostication with the appropriate amount of salt. And second, this interview took place in the middle of last week, two days before Microsoft announced its attempt to acquire Yahoo. Tech execs hope that the Yahoo acquisition – if it goes through – would set Microsoft up to start offering hybrid consumer-business software, as well.

This comes from Ben Worthen, a blogger who 'licks the Microsoft boot', so to speak, on a very regular basis. He talks about Novell in one particular context. It's not uncommon for Microsoft-tied publications such as the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times to give Novell, being a Microsoft partner, visibility as a Linux company, often at the expense of others.

An audio recording with some bits from Novell's Dale Olds is available here.

Dale Olds, the Project Lead on Novell's Bandit Project: Olds oversees Novell's Bandit Project, an open standards development group that organizes and standardizes identity-related technologies. The goal is to develop components that provide consistent identity services for Authentication, Authorization, and Auditing. He helped develop and release DigitalMe, an information card selector recently released by the Bandit Project.

Next up: Novell partners. ⬆