SUSE POS is Repackaged Red Hat, Largely Ignored by the Press
- Dr. Roy Schestowitz
- 2012-04-01 07:50:39 UTC
- Modified: 2012-04-01 07:50:39 UTC
Summary: A look at some SUSE news, of which there is very little
THE world of SUSE has been quiet. Hardly anything is being written about it, not even many
HOWTOs. SUSE has
this new press release which hardly got any press coverage, with
few exceptions:
SUSE Linux Enterprise Point of Service includes a centralized directory-based administration server and point of service (POS) branch servers, as well as tools and templates to easily create, roll out and maintain operating system images for a wide variety of POS devices.
Security enhancements include full disk encryption on terminals for both data and root partitions, making it easier for administrators to build PCI DSS compliant systems.
This is mostly covered
like a press release, always repeating itself:
New release will create, launch and maintain operating system images for a wide variety of POS devices
SUSE is just using a lot of Red Hat's work in this case. It rallies a small number of developers who repackage things and
openwashes itself by setting up activities.
Speaking of Red Hat, the company's results are impressive and we hope to hear from the company's CEO soon (they invited us to ask him questions). Curiously enough,
another patent lawsuit has just been filed against the company and
Groklaw has the details:
A company called Business Process Modeling Solutions LLC, doing business as DE-BPMS LLC, filed suit against Red Hat (and a separate suit against IBM) asserting infringement of U.S. Patent No. 5,873,094 (Text of Patent). (Complaint [PDF; Text])
This yet again emphasises the need to address the subject of patents. As
Groklaw's Webbink puts it, it "strikes me as just the type of claim that will have trouble under the Bilski standard, but it certainly wouldn't hurt to see what can be found in terms of prior art. This patent was filed July 3, 1997, but it claims priority back to a filing made April 11, 1995, so prior art must pre-date this earlier priority date."
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Comments
Michael
2012-04-04 17:12:41
As far as desktop Linux: you and I and other techies keep some tabs on it and play with it, but for most it is completely off their radar. They know few who use it and of those that do, those people are programmers or the like (doing completely different work than "normal" people) or they are not very happy with it and settle with it because it is cheap. They certainly do not, with few exceptions, seek it out.
So the idea that a desktop Linux distro would be largely ignored is to be expected. The fact Ubuntu and a handful of others get even the small amount of coverage that they do is something to be happy about - but to try to make something out of a Linux desktop distro not getting much press... silly. What do you expect? It would be like a new version of WebKit getting major press news or a huge press frenzy over a new color of marker from Crayola (heck, the latter might get more press).