Novell News Summary - Part I: New OpenSUSE is Fichte; A Little SLE* News

Dr. Roy Schestowitz

2009-03-07 15:49:05 UTC
Modified: 2009-03-07 15:50:54 UTC

Next OpenSUSE Gets a Name

OpenSUSE is slowing down a little (based on separation between previous releases), but looking ahead at OpenSUSE 11.2, progress is really being made already. The release gets... a name.

The roadmap for 11.2 is now set, and openSUSE is getting a fixed release cycle! Codenamed “Fichte,” openSUSE 11.2 is planned for release in November, and releases thereafter will happen every eight months.

This was also covered by Sean Michael Kerner.

Novell's openSUSE community manager Joe Brockmeier just announced that that codename for the upcoming openSUSE 11.2 release is Fichte.

The comments on this report are interesting.

Technical

There are many posts that we've found this time around, namely:

Legal

Novell's trademark changes (as applied to "OpenSUSE") were discussed a few days ago and this was also covered by OStatic, which is always tuned in to OpenSUSE.

The openSUSE trademark guidelines were influenced by the OpenSolaris, Ubuntu, and Mozilla trademark guidelines. In addition to discussing trademark use for software derived from openSUSE and the whys and wherefores of redistribution, the use of openSUSE trademarks for advocacy groups, merchandise, events, and compatible software products is also covered.

Red Hat/Fedora made similar changes a few days ago, probably in response to Novell/OpenSUSE. Novell's Joe Brockmeier, who happens to write for OStatic, has addressed other licensing issues (relating to copyrights).

An additional note - a lot of people like to use scare tactics to try to convince companies to avoid "tainting" their software with GPLed software, claiming that it could force a company to open all of their software. Not true -- the worst case scenario is really that a company may be forced to cease distribution of the GPLed software if they're not willing to comply with the license. Now, this may be inconvenient, but if a company feels that its code will lose value to the company if distributed under the GPL, they can opt to not distribute the GPLed code and retain their copyrighted code under whatever license they choose.

Proprietary companies want money for their code, projects that GPL software simply want code in lieu of money. (Of course, it's not unheard of for authors to dual-license software too - so companies have the option of asking to pay licensing fees for GPLed code.)

Leftovers (More on OpenSUSE)

Kiwi-LTSP is introduced at Raiden's Realm and it happens to run on OpenSUSE. As a short introduction to it:

Kiwi-LTSP, a combination of KIWI imaging technology and Linux Terminal Server Project, is one open source solution for thin client servers.

There are quite a few other items of relevance in the OpenSUSE Web site.

In this Week:

* Joe Brockmeier: Addressing the layoffs * Andrew Wafaa: Open Support * Masim Sugianto: Apache Web Server & Virtual Host on openSUSE : Part 1 * pablo2525: opensuse 11.1 - kupdateapplet * {lizards,news,zonker}.opensuse.org updated to Wordpress 2.7.1

Since the past week has been a quiet week for SLE*, it's worth mentioning SUSE only very briefly.

SUSE (SLES/SLED)

In South Africa and in New Zealand, SLE* shows up on the server and sub-notebooks, respectively.

Lenovo's new server offering includes three towers and two rack servers based on x86 architecture for businesses ranging in size from one to 500 employees. The ThinkServer family is available with Microsoft Windows Server or SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell.

The IdeaPad S10e weighs less than 1.3kg and features a built-in webcam on a 10.1-inch display. The vendor offers different customisation options including hardware technologies, education software and upgradeable warranties to fit the individual needs of schools. Users can choose between Microsoft Windows XP Home or SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell.

Justin Steinman is still promoting Novell's variant of GNU/Linux (Ballnux) merely as something which is customisable (power over freedom).

Now, Justin Steinman, vice president of solution and product marketing at Novell gives us his thoughts on open source and mass customization.

It's nothing to do with freedom in his eyes, but then again, he's a Microsoft sympathiser who spins and also deceives to defend Novell and Microsoft while throwing FUD at Red Hat. Interviews with him [1, 2] have already shed light on the attitudinal issue. ⬆

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Purge of Software Freedom and Its Voices: Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
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