According to this new article, SUSE leads the way in this dangerous development, which no doubt will please the secret services.
A team of researchers has implemented support for ‘trusted computing’ in a commercially available version of the open source operating system Linux, breaking new ground in the global drive toward more secure computing environments.
The latest release of openSUSE, a Linux version sponsored by software maker Novell, comes packaged with software that allows users to set up a trusted computing (TC) environment on their computer, enhancing security beyond the antivirus programs and firewalls that frequently prove inadequate at keeping bugs, viruses and spyware at bay.
Security Blanket v4.0.0 will include lock down support for openSUSE 11, Novell SUSE 11, and Fedora 11. Additionally, our completely redesigned console streamlines the process of building complex profiles to satisfy your site’s security policy.
Thanks to Novell and Google’s sponsorship, nine of us are converging in Google’s Chicago office for two days.
SUSE Studio was mentioned again by Tux Radar, which generally likes (and has always liked, even under the “Linux Format” banner) the OpenSUSE/SuSE distribution.
Novell recently launched SUSE Studio, a service that enables you to create OpenSUSE respins from any browser. At the time we went to press this service was so exclusive it was strictly invite-only, though you could request an invitation via www.susestudio.com.
Boardsports, be it snow, skate, or surf, is a multi-million dollar industry, populated with large manufacturers and cottage shops, all trying to get a piece of these sports’ action. With such competition in place, particularly when the current economic climate is discouraging discretionary spending on boarding equipment, it’s no small feat to reduce part of an IT budget by 80 percent.
That’s exactly what happened when The Burton Corporation shifted its SAP-related infrastructure from HP-UX on proprietary big iron to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) on commodity boxes last year.
The Indian press — and one publication in particular — did something interesting. It is suspicious that they just publish three Novell case studies out of the blue (without any for other companies to be covered), namely:
HRI employs SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to power its supercomputing clusters, enabling globally recognized research projects in cosmology, high-energy physics and condensed matter physics, writes Nivedan Prakash
Gupta added that PlateSpin Migrate enabled them to take snapshots of their systems and move them across a 155 Mbps line to new hardware in the new facility, “We moved each server during weekends on a four-week cycle, preparing the target platform and then using PlateSpin Migrate to migrate the data. The whole migration was completed within six months, with no significant disruption to users.”
The migration from Microsoft Windows to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop at ING Life, India has generated considerable cost savings for the company. The company has also gained a faster and more stable working environment.
The demand for such tools has attracted the attention of a variety of vendors, including BeyondTrust, which last month unveiled what it termed the first first privileged account management product for heterogeneous IT environments, along with CA, Quest Software and Novell.
Xandros
Xandros, which consumed Linspire and Scalix, is generally very quiet these days, but some press releases are still floating about without getting attention from reporters. Corel is said to be close to being bought.
[Xandros] BridgeWays Partner Inframon Brings Cross – Platform System Center Services to the United Kingdom
If the machine does have an ARM processor, it also won’t be able to run Windows XP or Windows 7, although it’s not clear if it will run Google Android, Google Chrome or a Linux distribution such as Xandros, Ubuntu, or Moblin.
Samsung
Another Microsoft-encumbered distribution which we wrote about this week would be Bada, and it’s still appearing in some places.
Samsung’s first Bada-powered device has been leaked in photo form – it would appear to be a style-conscious touchscreen device
[...]
Following on from the widespread adoption of the Android operating system, several smartphone players are branching out into alternate, open source interfaces, as we saw with the Vodafone 360 H1 – a phone also made by Samsung.
Samsung pays Microsoft for Linux. All too troublesome to be accepted. █
Summary: Microsoft’s business partner and ally SAP lobbies against Oracle and then issues demands for Java, pretending to be a friend of the very same thing it is attacking
Microsoft and SAP have reasons to celebrate this week because their lobbying against Oracle and Sun [1, 2] has apparently paid off. Java would most likely suffer as a result and Microsoft’s partner in lobbying against Free software, against open standards, and for software patents [1, 2] is now hypocriticallypressuring for Java to be liberated. As a reminder, SAP and Microsoft almost merged and the only GNU/Linux SAP seems to be touching these days is tainted by Microsoft tax, thanks to Novell.
Glyn Moody has written this response to SAP’s shameless request, which shows quite a nerve given that it’s coming from one of the most vehemently anti-Free software companies out there (the comments from Shai Agassi, for example, are almost impossible to forget).
The real reason SAP’s call is hypocritical is this document [.pdf], essentially a love-letter to software patents, submitted as an amicus curiae brief to the European Patent Office. Software patents are simply incompatible with free software, because they are government-granted monopolies designed to *stop* people sharing stuff. They also prevent hackers from writing new code because they represent an ever-present digital sword of Damocles hanging over them.
SAP simply cannot claim to be a true friend of openness while it also supports software patents in any jurisdiction, in any form – the same applies to other companies, too, I should note. They can share as much code as they like, but until they repudiate software patents – for example, by placing their patent portfolios in the public domain – that’s little more than window-dressing.
Moody has seen the leaked documents which reveal SAP lobbying for software patents, against standards, and against Free software in procurement. SAP is also working with Novell so that it can please Microsoft and pay ‘patent tax’ on GNU/Linux (unprecedented in many cases). Here is another analysis of what truly goes on in SAP’s mind.
SAP has been trying to get the influential SAP Mentor group onside with open source. That’s probably one of the easiest tasks it has. Geeks love open source and care little for commercial issues. And the Mentors are extremely good geek advocates for what SAP does. Marketing wise it’s an internal SAP community slam dunk for SAP. But…SAP has also made clear that IT doesn’t believe open source means ‘free.’ Mentors may not be concerned about that from a development viewpoint but I’m pretty darned sure they’d get antsy if the license bills came at deployment time.
As an aside, I have practical experience of running the SAP IP gauntlet. If SAP is truly committed to open source then this will relieve a lot of the pressure on developer groups. However, that’s not a certainty.
For the betterment of Free software, companies like SAP should really embrace Free software or simply cease to exist. Another proprietary software company that causes great trouble (although it opposes software patents) is Adobe, which has just laid off 10% of its staff.
The software firm, best known for Photoshop, Flash and Acrobat, said the cuts were necessary to cut costs.
Summary: Novell’s latest press releases are largely well received by Microsoft and its proponents; Microsoft’s latest GPL violation claimed confirmed
AN item of news that was mentioned yesterday touches on two points; one is the anniversary of Microsoft’s patent deal with Novell and the other is Mono/Novell promotion of Visual Studio (and by extension .NET and Windows).
Now, there’s a little less to laugh about. Microsoft partner Novell has delivered a plug-in designed to help Visual Studio developers easily build, debug, test, and port applications built using C# in Visual Studio 2005 to Linux, Unix, and OS X. The plug-in has Microsoft’s full blessing.
To Microsoft, part of these moves is to do with harming the GPL, which is at the core of Free software. Microsoft’s latest GPL violation affected Vista 7 and there there were more GPL violations [1, 2, 3] which show that Microsoft disregards the law, as always. SJVN wrote about it as follows.
Microsoft violates GPL
[...]
The Windows 7 tool, of course, has Microsoft licenses all over it, doesn’t allow users any access to its source code, and makes no acknowledgments to the debt it owes to ImageMaster. So much for the GPL.
I never bought for a moment that Microsoft had any real interest in working with open-source developers except for its own benefit. This case just underlines it.
Microsoft has taken offline an utility it supplies to help download DVD and USB images of Windows 7 purchased online, while it investigates allegations that GPL-ed code was used to develop the tool.
How might Microsoft treat and handle this public relations disaster?
This was not covered in many places, but Microsoft boosters Mary Jo Foley and Gavin Clarke both covered this as well, noting that “Microsoft has pulled a Windows 7 media and administration tool from the Microsoft Store site for apparently violating the GPL.” Apparently? Really? Mary Jo Foley — unlike SJVN for example — uses a question mark. Also, there is a fair bit of denial in these articles, such as claims that Microsoft denies prior GPL violations (not true). Typical Microsoft spin and promotion. They rewrite history.
REDMOND, Wash., and WALTHAM, Mass., Nov. 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Three years after Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. first inked their groundbreaking interoperability collaboration agreement, more than 475 customers have successfully future-proofed their Windows and Linux* IT operations by helping ensure business continuity, minimize risk and optimize mixed-source infrastructure. As a result of this unique industry relationship, Microsoft and Novell announced that more than 20 of these new joint customers have signed up for a subscription service launched a year ago by Novell. The service provides expanded support, and for customers running other Linux distributions, including Red Hat* Enterprise Linux, the support subscriptions qualify them for intellectual property (IP) peace of mind from Microsoft, while they transition to SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server from Novell.
The service provides expanded support, and for customers running other Linux distributions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the support subscriptions qualify them for intellectual property (IP) peace of mind from Microsoft, while they transition to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell.
“Intellectual property (IP) peace of mind,” eh? Nothing has ever changed at Novell and unfortunately this is hurting OpenSUSE. Zonker writes, “Don’t forget: 11.2 will be released on Thursday! [that's tomorrow],” one response to which (the only response in Linux Today) is: “Thanks but I think I’ll pass on yet another Microsoft product.” █
“[The partnership with Microsoft is] going very well insofar as we originally agreed to co-operate on three distinct projects and now we’re working on nine projects and there’s a good list of 19 other projects that we plan to co-operate on.”
“Our partnership with Microsoft continues to expand.”
–Ron Hovsepian, Novell CEO
Summary: Novell makes more evident what was obvious from the very start — that it puts Microsoft’s interests ahead of anything else
“FOR Windows users,” claims our reader, “Novell and Suse only serve as a last barbwire fence to keep their livestock (or maybe pawns was the right word) from roaming free.” He points to this article to serve as a reminder (“Microsoft exec called software developers ‘pawns’”; we have the full text of that talk).
The latest news is that “Novell plugs Linux developers into Visual Studio,” to quote the headline from IDG. What a way to pour cold water on OpenSUSE just days before its latest release. This is actually the fault of Novell’s team at Boston, which is headed by CodePlex board member Miguel de Icaza. Here is the opening of the article:
With a product introduction on Tuesday, Novell will enable developers to use Microsoft’s Visual Studio software development platform to both build and debug .Net-based applications for deployment on Linux and other non-Windows platforms.
Novell’s Mono Tools for Visual Studio, available now, lets .Net developers utilize Visual Studio to build cross-platform applications. Also usable for putting .Net applications on Unix and Mac OS, the product serves as an add-in module for Visual Studio and leverages the separately available Novell Mono runtime for running .Net applications on non-Microsoft platforms. Mono Tools for Visual Studio had been offered in a preview release to a limited number of developers earlier this year.
This has got to be a joke, but it’s not. It is actually quite predictable and we wrote about this months ago [1, 2]. The details surfaced in some employee blogs.
“For FOSS users,” argues one of our readers, “Novell and Suse only serve as a gateway to channel users into Microsoft lock-in. Instead of improving already good tools like Eclipse, Netbeans or Kdevelop, they shovel th[e above].”
The Mono-Nono Web site has already responded to this latest news in its post “Mono for Microsoft”.
What we have here is a MonoTouch application for the iPhone covering a Microsoft conference and advertising Team Mono’s booth at the same conference for those that “don’t have a Mac”.
Why exactly is this garbage on Planet GNOME and Planet SUSE? (I can understand Planet GNOME, since GNOME seems to have largely adopted the Venerable Ostrich Position on Mono) Do people not get tired of the pro-Mono / pro-Microsoft messaging that has nothing to do with Linux?
At least Team Mono used to pretend there was some benefit for Linux from Mono, lately much/most of the messaging has absolutely nothing to do with Linux.
[...]
Of course, Microsoft rewards its collaborators when it suits them, so Peter Galli has written “Microsoft and Novell: Three Years and Going Strong” where he gives the lapdog a small treat, and doesn’t miss a chance to talk up intellectual “peace of mind” . This is a disgustingly popular code phrase for “Use Microsoft-approved software or we just might sue you”. Microsoft and Novell love to brandish a bit of IP FUD about, especially if they can wield it against Red Hat.
I like to point out another way of looking at “Three Years and Going Strong”: the Novell-Microsoft deal is just as offensive and anti-community today as it was the day it was signed. The reasons for opposing the deal are just as valid today as they were three years ago. The people that walked away from Novell three years ago were right to do so, and anyone that chooses to do so today is equally justified.
Update: If you do not have a Mac, come to our booth at the Microsoft PDC, and we will ad-hoc deploy the app for you.
Separately, Miguel de Icaza actually ridicules GNU/Linux by reciting Microsoft's lies about market share. And evidently, these days he is busy enriching the iPhone experience. We wrote about MonoTouch in:
Sadly for me Banshee insisted on crashing whenever i tried to watch a film so i can’t demonstrate it as it should be, but i did manage to stream a (randomly clicked) video as flash.
Meanwhile, Novell is trying to shake it all off and pretend that there is no problem with its patent deal. In fact, a Microsoft-sponsored blog exclaims: “Microsoft patent controversy? Not much anymore, Novell says”
Nice propaganda you got there. Emphasis in red is ours:
She [Novell vice president] continued, “Over the last three years, the IP peace of mind has been an element of the partnership that has been well-received by customers, and has not been controversial in the last couple years at all. It’s really just become accepted as part of the program. Will it be part of our part of our partnership (in the future)? I think the core elements that have made us successful, we should look to those to stay part of the partnership going forward. What that looks like in the end, we’ll have to see based on the discussions we’re having, but I would expect that both of us would want to keep the pieces that have been really successful.”
The companies are now entering the fourth year of the original five-year agreement. Asked if they’re already working to extend the deal beyond the initial term, Microsoft general manager Ted MacLean didn’t provide any specifics but said the companies in general are “constantly exploring how to continue working together.”
Yes, they are trying to impose Microsoft patent payments on more and more companies. Based on a separate new report from IDG:
To further broaden its base, Novell is considering adding support for Oracle Unbreakable Linux, Heystee said. “We’re looking at it, since we’ve gotten quite a few requests from people having support issues” with Oracle, she said. “You do see a trend there, of customers wanting to work with the manufacturer of the Linux distro itself.”
We also find this new press release which is not significant, and it is probably timed so as to intersect with coverage of the deal’s anniversary (that’s just a guess though).
Novell and Microsoft are working together to ensure all companies pay Microsoft for their deployment/s of GNU/Linux.█
This is it folks! We’re almost there for openSUSE 11.2. Time to grab the final 11.2 release candidate and shake out any remaining bugs to get the lizard ready for release. This release includes an updated kernel, Samba, Firefox, and more.
Stephen Shaw (decriptor) and Bryen Yunashko (suseROCKS) have completed their tenure on the Board, and their seats are up for election. There is also a new seat available to be occupied by a non-Novell member.
The KDE 4 experience in openSUSE has been enhanced daily, and while the desktop environment itself has matured significantly since the last release, there has been a constant focus to provide an outstanding delivery of it in openSUSE 11.2.
The highlights include: the openSUSE DVD preselected to KDE 4.3; new Firefox KDE integration; OpenOffice.org KDE 4 integration; consistent KDE artwork; all other standard applications fully ported to KDE 4, including KNetworkManager, Amarok, DigiKam, K3b, Konversation and more.
One blogger calls OpenSUSE 11.2 “the Perfect KDE Distribution.”
OpenSUSE 11.2 comes with a lot of programs that support social networks (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, …etc). Firefox is the king in the area. But if you do not like the default webbased interfaces, you can use other applications like:
* Choqok: New KDE twitter and identi.ca client.
* Kopete: The KDE client now has additional support for Facebook IM protocol.
* Social plasmoids: KDE 4.3 comes with plasmoids for Twitter/identi.ca and openDesktop.
Many major releases of GNU/Linux are coming shortly and this new roundup includes OpenSUSE.
Welcome to the GNU/Linux Educational Server. Here you will find collections of useful courses to help you better use the applications found on the Linux distributions. There are also forums, chatrooms, courses, and help materials at your disposal.
At the front page it states: “This site is generously sponsored by openSUSE-Education project.”
That’s actually a positive contribution from Novell.
SUSE (SLES/SLED)
Here is a somewhat scripted and cocky new video from Ron Hovsepian, Novell’s CEO. We’ve seen more of this type of videos recently — ones where Novell seniors publicly suck up to Intel.
The use of the Teradata software on EC2 is free and good for working with up to one terabyte of data. Teradata runs under Novell Suse Linux Enterprise Server 10.
Samsung, which signed a Microsoft patent deal similar to Novell’s, is still receiving some press for its Microsoft-taxed Linux phones. Some reporters love comparing everything to Apple, which is the wrong thing to do because the target markets are very different.
The 360 service replaces the current Vodafone Live! service and also allows users to back up the entire contents of their phone online, configure the phone’s home screen and manage contacts – in a similar way to Windows Phone’s My Phone service or MobileMe on the iPhone. It will be available across the Vodafone range, and to users on other networks too. Vodafone also confirmed that an iPhone app is in the pipeline.
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