01.03.07
SUSE Linux Was Ready for the Desktop, But Novell Sold Out
Lobby4Linux has a very long writeup which protests Novell’s rushed deal. For BoycottNovell skeptics, I decided to quote a fragment which can hopefully prove that Shane and I are not the only ‘nutters’ out there who glance below the surface of this deal.
Some of us are still asking the question: “Is Linux Ready For The Desktop?”
I don’t care who you are…that’s funny.
And yet, this announcement was not heralded by one News site or blog…none that I could find at any rate, and don’t get me wrong. I am proudly affiliated with one of the best Linux News websites in existance…I missed it just like you did. The “announcement” was eclipsed by a controversy that still rages in the community and so immersed in this discussion did we become…we let it get completely by us. No, Linus did not come down from the mountain with disks in hand to make the proclamation, nor did RMS or any other noted Linux Guru perform the coronation.
Microsoft decided the issue for us.
Personally, those are the most disturbing 6 words I have ever typed.
Microsoft has physically picked up and placed Linux anywhere on the Great Chessboard they wish…no different than the other Pawns they push around. Novell should be seen as nothing more than the drunken sentry who opened the gate to let the Trojan Horse in. For those of you who have challenged me on MS having too much strength and leverage, as it is said often in over-dramatic fashion; I rest my case.
Sounds familiar? As Jeremy Allison put it:
I’m sad because I don’t think we needed to do this. We were gaining a lot of traction with SuSE Linux desktop, and from my perspective (admittedly not high up in the company hierarchy with views on revenue) we were winning. We had a good product, I was always extremely busy with new customer requirements, and was personally involved in winning new customers for SLED and SLES. It just feels to me like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
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Ian said,
January 3, 2007 at 9:21 am
“It just feels to me like snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.”
I’m not sure I understand that statement. What are the criteria for victory in this case? Beating Microsoft? Unfortunately for us all, nobody is doing that in the workstation or server space. I still think this was a badly thought out decision PR wise on Novell’s part, but saying they pulled defeat from the jaws of victory is over estimating the traction that SLED is having out there.
From a personal standpoint, there are a few things keeping my organization from considering SLED. First and foremost, a student needs to be able to email their word/excel/powerpoint docs between home and school and be able to work on them without formating or other issues. Politics aside, that would be beneficial to be able to have that seamless access to data, whatever tool you’re using. I know it would bring down a LARGE barrier in my own organization.
I think Novell made a PR blunder, and they failed to use their in house OSS resources during all this. I’ve slammed them for this. They make it seem like Microsoft wants to be interoperable with Linux, which is disingenuous business talk for saying “this is the only way we can play with Microsoft”. Novell’s management bumbled this deal with the details, but in the end, it might actually help Linux adoption.
I’m still to see any negatives from the basic community standpoint up to this point. Has any of this impacted your “Linux experience?” I use Ubuntu at home, and I’ve yet to see any negative impact.