Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell News Summary - Part III: Novell Products, People, and Toxic Waste

THE Novell-funded IDC 'study' which we last mentioned and summarised a week ago is still being kicked around despite the obvious bias and the source which is a mouth to rent (or rant).



So it's not surprising that 65 percent of IT professionals recently polled by IDC said they plan to increase Linux server workloads by 10 percent or more this year. IDC carried out the poll for Novell, and the draft results were reported in InformationWeek.


Had it come from a reputable source working independently, then -- maybe then -- conclusions will be easier to reach. But the whole thing is just marketing.

Over at Novell's CTO blog, we find the "agility" buzzword from Jeff Jaffe repeated endlessly. It's almost as though they encourage the staff to recite this word. Is it a motto now?

Novell's strategic direction is being alluded to in a new CBR article.

Sean Larner, Managed Objects' international president at the time of its acquisition by Novell (and now CEO at file-sharing start-up Broolz) explained why he believed business service management is so different from the systems management that came before it, telling CBR: “Managed Objects is not a management company. What we do is take information from any source, whether or not it is a CMDB [configuration management database] and visualise it.”


There are two new articles in the 'Microsoft press' which mentions Novell rather briefly. Novell is being used as Microsoft's 'model' for cooperation with Microsoft (payment for undisclosed software patents), so it's not particularly surprising. The first article is titled "Novell Wants a Partner on Every Deal" and the second is about IE8.

But there's more to Novell's new partner plan than just a few tweaks. There is, to hear the company's channel executives talk about it, a renewed and very genuine commitment to partners, led in part by former Microsoft channel executive Steve Hale, now Novell's vice president for the global datacenter channel, and by 15-year Novell veteran Scott Lewis. Lewis, vice president of partner marketing and enablement for the company, said that Novell is looking for partners not just to sell and implement SUSE Linux, the company's flagship product, but also to sell and support its other offerings, as well.


 

Microsoft's open source strategy is foggier than an '80s hair band's stage show. Here's what I've been able to decipher through the haze: Microsoft wants to be friendly to certain open source tools like those from Novell. It also wants Windows to manage the open source tools, rather than having open source tools manage Windows.


Finance



Novell (NOVL) is sort of being upgraded, but the hypothesis upon which this is based neglects the disappointing results that Novell announced about a month ago.

Novell assumed with a Buy at Cross Research; tgt $6 . Cross Research assumes coverage of NOVL with a Buy and sets target price at $6. The firm believes that the upside story for NOVL is that economic conditions could motivate IT professionals to seek 'more for less' in terms of cost reductions from more expensive solutions like Unix and Windows.


Novell was under $3 not so long in the past. Regardless of Novell's performance, the CEO always receives bonuses, year after year.

Past



Going further into the past, Novell's client for Windows is being demoed for its problems in this new video which someone uploaded to YouTube some days ago.



NetWare was mentioned briefly in this article and this one too.

ICON Manager, which currently provides these advanced capabilities for Windows and VMware environments, now adds support for Linux in the fourth quarter of 2008 and will support Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V by early 2009. ICON Manager also supports simplified storage provisioning and management for other operating systems, including UNIX, Mac OS and Novell NetWare.


 

Microsoft’s channel partner strategy is essentially the backbone of its entire enterprise business; its care and feeding of channel partners is what differentiated it and allowed it to obliterate competitors like Novell in the applications server market during the 1990s.


SJVN wrote about obsolete operating systems and Novell had its place in his list.

In a way, it's because of BSD/OS that we have Linux now. BSD/OS' creator, (BSDi) Berkeley Software Design Inc., ended up in what you could describe as the first of the open-source lawsuits -- AT&T/USL vs. BSDi-in 1992. After Novell bought Unix and AT&T's Unix System Laboratories, Novell dropped the lawsuit. In the meantime, though, little work was done with any of the BSDs. And, so a Finnish college student named Linus Torvalds decided to build his own Unix-like operating system. And, the rest as they say, is history.


IDG mentioned Novell certifications, but the article is about something else altogether.

Another example: Users' communities. Some smart vendors have been able to recognize that their products can generate passion among their customers — and they foster that passion. In the old days, this was through structured training and certification programs (Cisco and Novell leap to mind).


Virtualisation



Speculations about Oracle and Red Hat seem poorly substantiated, but the discussion about this has Novell's virtualisation strategy mentioned in this couple of new articles.

Novell (NOVL): Also has built virtualization offerings on Xen. Also owns SUSE Linux, which could replace Oracle’s own version of the open-source OS. Some overlap in identity management and systems management.Market cap $1.5 billion; has more than $1.1 billion in net cash.


 

Novell (NOVL): Also has built virtualization offerings on Xen. Also owns SUSE Linux, which could replace Oracle’s own version of the open-source OS. Some overlap in identity management and systems management.Market cap $1.5 billion; has more than $1.1 billion in net cash.


Linux Pro Magazine cited us on previous erroneous speculations from the same source (Katherine Egbert). Red Hat told us it cannot comment on it.

Mail



Amid tough time, SKyPRO buys FaxGWise, which integrates with Novell's GroupWise.

FaxGWise integrates with Novell GroupWise to provide an optimized solution for sending, receiving, and managing faxes. It has been available released in 2002 and is now at Version 4.


Blackberry and its partners keep boasting support of GroupWise too.

Blackberry Enterprise Server tightly integrates with leading email platforms such as the IBM, Lotus, Domino, Microsoft, Exchange and Novell GroupWise.


People



Danese Cooper, who is known to many as a Linux/FOSS diva, changed jobs and mentioned Novell.

Cooper said, "In a classic pattern of open source adoption and growth, R is being used to expand predictive choices at places like Google, Facebook, Novell, and throughout the life sciences and financial services industries. My role is to build bridges between REvolution Computing and the expanding community of R so that everyone can benefit from a robust exchange of ideas and experimentation."


John Edwards will speak on behalf of Move Networks. He has history at Novell where he served as a Vice President.

This experience includes serving as Chairman and CEO of I-Link Corporation (enhanced VoIP services), President of Coresoft (object-oriented business systems for telephony and data), President of Digital Research (owners of DR-DOS), and Executive Vice President of Novell (enterprise networking).


Also from Move Networks comes a move in the Board of Directors and there is some Novell history to be spotted.

Mr. Butterfield also held executive positions in the software industry with companies such as Vinca Corporation, Novell and WordPerfect Corporation.


Broadweave kicked out its CEO and we find Novell roots in this article as well.

"We feel a great deal of appreciation for Steve," said Moon, a former WordPerfect and Novell executive and chief information officer for the state of Utah.


Some people's only connection with Novell is a certification, as in the following case:

Carson Wells, a former Navy engineer, Microsoft certified systems engineer, Cisco certified network associate, certified Novell administrator, and CompTIA A-plus certified professional with 15 years of experience in IP telephony, will administer the Cisco program for Anova.


Utah



Novell's parking lot in Provo is being used to collect hazardous waste. Maybe Novell can bring out Moonlight and Mono to the collection point.

The waste-collection companies are making the disposal of certain household items easy from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 28, in the Novell parking area in Provo's East Bay. Any resident of Utah County can take their hazardous waste to the collection point.


 

Utah County will host a hazardous waste collection day on Saturday, March 28, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., in the Novell parking lot in Provo. Certain items commonly found in garages will not be accepted at this event, such as old tires and electronics. Electronics should be take to the North Pointe Solid Waste Special Service District, which can be reached at 801-225-8538. Tires can be taken to landfill transfer stations, and disposal may require a fee.


Vector warning sign



Marketing



Novell is still clogging up YouTube with promotional videos and the latest additions are case studies that include Office Depot.

On the other hand, some videos are not promotional but instructional instead. Here, for example, is a new one about Novell Support Advisor 1.0.



Can Novell not host its own videos and make them available as Ogg?

Recent Techrights' Posts

European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The Brotherhood of São Bento
The Palácio São Bento – or São Bento Palace – is the seat of the Portuguese National Assembly in Lisbon
Brett Wilson LLP Reported to Police for Trying to Throw Large Parcel Into Our Home
This morning the campaign of intimidation...
Slop Has no ROI, an Economy Built on False Assumptions of Slop is Doomed
we're all going to suffer from this Ponzi scheme
The Cyber Show Has "Exciting Guests Coming" and a Gemini Capsule
"Site development is ongoing but now settling into a more stable form"
 
IBM's Quantum Bubble Already Deflating
Shares down over $55 in a few days
SLAPP Censorship - Part 101 Out of 200: Women Come to Realise They Don't Wish to Participate in Attacking Vulnerable Women
It relates to another topic that we shall be covering in the coming weeks
Links 08/06/2026: Proprietary Loaded With Security Holes, Armenia Defies Russia
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/06/2026: NetHack 5.0.0 and Slop as Cannibalism
Links for the day
Links 08/06/2026: "Rising Emissions, Depleting Water" Due to the Pyramid Scheme of Slop; "Canada Needs to Rebuild Public Telecoms"
Links for the day
GAFAM Bots Are Not "Good Bots"
There's nothing "Good" about Google
Links 08/06/2026: Criticism of Microsoft Trying to Criminalise Pointing Out Bug Doors, TikTok Now "Climate-Denying Social Media App"
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Measured at 10% in Liechtenstein This Month
it seems like statCounter wrongly classified some GNU/Linux clients as Mac clients and is now issuing a correction
Communicating With Freedom - Part III - Quibble Envisioned as a New and Easily Accessible Communications Platform Based on LibreJS
the FSF really needs to become more active if not proactive in promoting those sorts of things
Clownflare Says Majority of Web Traffic is Now Bots, But the Net is Another Story
Bots are to Clownflare what lawsuits are to lawyers
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 07, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, June 07, 2026
The Strikes at the European Patent Office Planned to Carry on for the Entire Year, Maybe Future Years as Well
There's a cautionary tale somewhere
Number of Patent Grants Has Plunged 23% Amid Strikes at the European Patent Office, Today There Are More Strikes (Strike Participation at Over 3,000, More Than Doubled Since Winter)
There is a growing crisis at the European Patent Office
E.E.E. Still Ongoing, the War on Copyleft/GPL Enables That
It also imperils security.
Gemini Links 07/06/2026: Lynx in the 'Modern' Web and 'Overcooked' (Plagiarised by LLM) Code
Links for the day
Links 07/06/2026: Java Needs Seawall, Egypt Blasted for Arbitrary Detention of Activists
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 100 Out of 200: Interlude and Outline of the First Half, 3+ Months That Got Us Death Threats Connected to Brett Wilson LLP (and Cyber Attacks That Are Difficult to Attribute)
This week we plan to have a good time
Banning Things Versus Teaching People the Reason/s to Shun/Boycott Those Things
Prohibition has its limits
Links 07/06/2026: NASA's Mars Maven Declared Dead, Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Bemoans Russia's Crackdown
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, June 06, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, June 06, 2026
Gemini Links 07/06/2026: How to Train Your Dragon (2010) and "Six Days of Play"
Links for the day
Links 06/06/2026: 'Epstein Problem' in Board of Directors of Microsoft, Surveillance Giant Google Under Legal Threats for Online Misuses
Links for the day
Software Freedom Takes a Lot More Than Coding
some of the roles in the Free software community that don't receive (m)any grateful words
Ubuntu is Losing to Other GNU/Linux Distros
"Linux Mint"
Old Articles Explaining That Patents - Especially Software Patents - Are Bad for Innovation
We've omitted more than 50% of the articles we had gathered as candidates for inclusion
European Patent Office (EPO) Crisis: Huge EPO Strikes, Profound Corruption, and Cocaine Use by Managers Tolerated
These strikes won't be ending any time soon
Why GNU and FSF Will Choose AV1 Over AV2 (It's More Widely Supported)
for the foreseeable future they'll stick with AV1
Mass Layoffs (RAs) and PIPs (Excuses to Sack) at IBM: Insiders Tell No Relation to Actual Performance
If many thousands are impacted by this, then certainly it is newsworthy
Links 06/06/2026: LinkedIn Infested With Spies, Ethernet WiFi Router On Pi Pico 2W
Links for the day
25 Years With PalmOS
That my Palm PDA still works in 2026 (not in mint condition but close to that) says a lot about the "build quality" of gadgets 20+ years ago
Why We Dumped Online Shopping (Groceries)
subsidies kept the "online" stuff artificially cheap
Microsoft Fell to All-Time Low in Monaco Last Month
So says statCounter anyway
Lawsuits That Don't Work
Not as expected anyway
SLAPP Censorship - Part 99 Out of 200: Graveley and Garrett Seem to Have Crashed Brett Wilson LLP (Worse Than Taking Russian Oligarchs as SLAPP Clients)
a state of disarray
Microsoft Has Spent Months Preparing Lists of People to Cull in Massive Wave of Layoffs (Allegedly Start of July)
There is some consensus that we're weeks away from mega-layoffs at Microsoft
Gemini Links 06/06/2026: "Competing" With LLMs and "Automation of Any Kind"
Links for the day
Links 06/06/2026: 'Linux' Foundation Openwashing Slop on Microsoft's Payroll, Ukraine Wants Permanent Ceasefire With Russia
Links for the day
50% of the 'Gains' Made by "Quantum" Hype Already Evaporated
"It was all hype about quantum nonsense. Heading back to reality now. Expect sub-$220 after earnings release next month."
Heap of Trash Online, Not Just the Fault of LLM Slop But Enabled by Slop
Google News has just promoted a pair of prolific slopfarms
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, June 05, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, June 05, 2026