Bonum Certa Men Certa

Do-No-Evil Saturday - Part III: Another Load of Novell News

Legal



Firefox made a lot of headlines over the past week 'thanks' to GNU/Linux. An issue came about in Ubuntu sites where people complained about the EULA, but OpenSUSE was not entirely isolated from this debate. In the following article, Zonker had his say.



For Novell's OpenSUSE, the EULA has been a temporary annoyance as well.

"I understand the shock that people might feel the first time they see an application popping up a EULA -- and I dearly hope it doesn't become a standard practice with OSS apps -- but in the general scope of things, I don't think it's an enormous burden on the user, since it's a one-time issue," Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier, Novell's openSUSE community manager, told InternetNews.com.


He blogged about it too :

As I said yesterday, I think the bulk of complaints were a bit off. Most people seemed to be complaining about the display of the license, rather than the EULA itself. Given the barrage of EULAs you see on Windows and Mac OS X, I’m not sure if this means that Windows and Mac users are overly complacent, or that Linux users are overly touchy. Maybe both.


Virtualisation



There were heaps of reports because of VMworld and Interop. Here are the key ones where Novell was involved.

Most recently it was this press release from Xenocode (also to be found here), which Novell bought a licence from.

Xenocode, a next-generation virtualization company, today announced the licensing of its best-in-class application virtualization technology to Novell. The recently announced Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization solution leverages Xenocode's virtualization technology to allow customers to deploy their applications inside a "virtual container" requiring no installation or configuration. Virtual application deployment eliminates application conflicts and compatibility problems on Windows desktops, allowing organizations to run legacy applications on Windows Vista and deploy multiple versions of applications side-by-side in isolated "sandboxes."

"We are especially excited about combining our leadership in virtualization technology with Novell's best-of-breed ZENworks management infrastructure platform," said Kenji Obata, Xenocode founder and CEO. "This licensing agreement provides a powerful, integrated solution for large organizations to assure instant availability of applications across all versions and desktop platforms."


Articles about this might arrive shortly. Maureen O'Gara wrote one, but it's better to ignore it.

Userful's latest announcement was mentioned last week, but articles about it continue to come. Here are 3 more of them:

1. Linux Product Insider - ”Free the Penguins” Virtualization in Schools Initiative

A valiant attempt to ungrip the Microsoft stranglehold on school PCs is the newly announced ”Free the Penguins” Virtualization in Schools Initiative from Omni Technology Solutions, Userful and Novell. The firms claim that “educational institutions looking for a low-cost, eco-friendly alternative to stand-alone Windows desktops can now deploy [the software for] their first 30-station computer lab or classroom free of charge”. Every university, college and school district in the world is eligible to receive a free 30-user Userful Multiplier virtualization software license, while the first 30 customers will also receive a free 30-user subscription to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell. Omni is the distributor of the free solution.


2. Schools get free PC virtualization and Novell SUSE

Two Canadian firms have donated up to three Linux-based Multiplier virtualization systems to any nonprofit school or university. Each Multiplier system lets up to 10 students apiece share a single computer. The first 30 requesting schools will also receive free SUSE software.


3. Calgary entrepreneur liberates desktops

Userful has grown to more than $1 million in annual sales (Griffin won't give an exact number) with 30,000 "computer seats" that pay monthly management fees of $10 to $100 per desktop per month to Userful or its partners.


Novell is also mentioned in this article about server virtualisation at Unisys.

The 7600R is also certified, of course, to support the VMware ESX Server 3.5 virtual machine hypervisor for carving up the server into sub-processor VMs, and customers can also use Microsoft's Hyper-V for Windows Server 2008 or the integrated Xen hypervisor inside Red Hat's Enterprise Linux Advanced Platform 5.2 or Novell's Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 to similarly carve up the box.


A press release from PlateSpin/Novell reveals another new product, which very few reports were published to describe.

PlateSpin ULC, a Novell€® company, today announced the availability of PlateSpin Forge(TM) version 2.0, an innovative hardware-based disaster recovery appliance that uses embedded VMware virtualization to protect most x86 server workloads.


 

The appliances, each delivered pre-configured with storage, management software and VMware virtualisation to support between 10 and 25 workloads, can be clustered under the control of management software for implementation in large enterprises if required. The latest version includes support for 64-bit Windows workloads.


It does raise some questions about Microsoft's benefit from this acquisition of PlateSpin by Novell.

rPath was mentioned last week because its strong new relationship with Novell may have affected its relationship with Microsoft. rPath does not neglect VMware though.

In addition, application providers will be able to leverage SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell when building VMware Ready virtual appliances using rPath’s technology platform.


As we shall see in a moment, Novell and VMware are no foes, either. That's despite the Microsoft connection (Novell is serving Microsoft. There are still some articles hanging about which talk about Microsoft and Novell in Hyper-V.

Hyper-Vell



Marius Oiaga wrote:

Microsoft continues to bridge its proprietary Windows operating system with the open source Linux platform, simultaneously advancing its collaboration with Novell.


Here is another report about it.

Microsoft Corp. and Novell Inc. are announcing the availability of a joint virtualization solution optimized for customers running mixed-source environments. The joint offering includes SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell configured and tested as an optimized guest operating system running on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, and is fully supported by both companies’ channel partners, including Dell Inc., which will test and validate this offering at the Microsoft and Novell joint Interoperability Lab in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The offering provides customers with the first complete, fully supported and optimized virtualization solution to span Windows and Linux environments.


CBR pulled a fast one as well (mirrored here)

The companies also have partnerships in three other fields: Moonlight, accessibility, and a new SUSE Linux Enterprise Server management pack for Microsoft System Center product. In August, Microsoft expanded its interoperability relationship with Novell by agreeing to buy an incremental $100m worth of subscription certificates for Novell's Linux products.


Another one here:

This step will also give a new way to the ongoing partnership between Microsoft and Novell. In 2006, these two came together and signed a licensing deal which according to many was Microsoft's official acceptance of Linux.


"Official acceptance of Linux..." maybe an acceptance of Linux tax as the chosen approach rather.

Pam Derringer wrote:

While not giving relative performance benchmarks of Red Hat versus SUSE on Hyper-V, Rego said Hyper-V has no comparable integration components for Red Hat guests. Red Hat "could choose" to use some of the components, but its current move from Xen to a KVM-based hypervisor "will change things quite a bit," added Dorfman.

Tony Iams, an analyst at Rye Brook, N.Y.-based Ideas International Inc., said the significance of the announcement is that the virtualization adapters are now a reality.

"This is an encouraging sign that [Microsoft and Novell] are progressing and their relationship remains as strong as ever," Iams said. "They've delivered a crucial milestone."


From Trading Markets:

Microsoft and Novell have formed a partnership to provide a joint virtualization offering for clients running mixed-source environments.


And another similar report (eerily similar):

Microsoft and Novell announced the availability of a joint virtualization solution optimized for customers running mixed-source environments.


Ian Bruce wrote about this at Novell.com.

VMworld



Novell wrote about this event in its PR blog and Ken Hess was there covering it on behalf of Linux Magazine. At the beginning of VMworld:

Speaking of announcements, I suspect that Microsoft and Novell may make a big one at this conference throwing the limelight squarely on their partnership going forward. They announced last Thursday that they’re going to collaborate on a virtualization solution that involves running SuSE Linux on Microsoft’s Hyper-V server. And, there’s that perennial struggle between Microsoft and Citrix. I wonder when those two are going to give up this strained on-again, off-again relationship and just move in together.


Novell actually made a VMware-related announcement:

Novell today announced broad support for the VMware* Ready Program and for VMware Studio, with SUSE(R) Linux Enterprise now verified as VMware Ready and as a fully supported guest operating system.


This is also mentioned here.

VMware's situation seems rather tough and complicated due to bundling and FUD. The following article quotes a man who used to be part of Microsoft's slog. He is now a victim of the type of slog.

VMware Inc.'s new CEO Paul Maritz is familiar with Microsoft's marketing.

He was a top executive at Microsoft for many years, after all, and witnessed its rivalry through the 1990s with Novell Inc. He recalled that he had his team scheming of ways to put a Microsoft logo on the pillow slipcovers of attendees at a Novell event.

That rivalry didn't turn out too well for Novell, and now Microsoft is aiming its guns at VMware.


SAP



The 'SAP triangle' is being mentioned and shown here in the news.

Moiz Kohari, vice president of engineering, open platform solutions group at Novell, said in an e-mail interview: "We believe that awareness in Asia is already very high. Global adoption of Linux is reaching, if not already, at critical mass, and this naturally impacts Asia."

Boosting enterprise confidence in open source But the crucial trigger for enterprise adoption is interoperability. Citing Oracle's support for Linux, SAP's endorsement of Novell's Suse Linux distribution and Novell's partnership with Microsoft, Kohari said major software players have shown they are ready to support Linux in Asia, which will help boost customer confidence in taking up open source technologies.


It's all just a bunch of mutual and multi-mutual partners patting themselves (and each other) on the back, making reciprocal recommendations. Microsoft almost bought SAP a couple of years ago.

Security



Not many vulnerabilities or advisories came up. Here is just one.

People



After an abrupt departure of the former channel chief (she left after months on the job), another appointment is made. There is a lot of coverage about it. Here is the press release and an early short report.

Novell Inc (Nasdaq:NOVL) announced today (12 September) the appointment of Javier Colado as general manager, Partners, responsible for the management of Novell's partner and channel strategy world wide.


Another quickie:

Novell Inc. announced the appointment of Javier Colado to the new position of general manager, partners, effective immediately. Colado will be responsible for leading and managing channel and partner strategy worldwide, with a focus on accelerating Novell's channel transformation.


Reports from 'channel press' soon arrived because Novell is still an important part to those who depend on VARs. From CRN:

Novell has named Javier Colado, previously manager of the software company's Europe, Middle East and Africa operations, as its new channel chief, the company announced Friday.

Colado's appointment, effective last week, comes nearly six weeks after the sudden departure of vice president of global channel sales Pat Bernard who left, according to the company, "to pursue other interests." Colado will report to president and CEO Ron Hovsepian and will relocate from Spain to work in Novell's Waltham, Mass., headquarters.

Novell's channel management has undergone some turbulence during the last year. Bernard took the reins of the company's channel operations just last November when Novell's channel executive ranks underwent major changes including the departures of Steve Erdman, vice president and general manager of channels and alliances, and James Simzer, director of North America partner sales.


From Channel Insider:

Colado, who will be based in Novell’s Massachusetts headquarters, replaces Pat Bernard who left Novell in early August after less than a year with the company. Bernard's charter was to make Novell a more channel-centric company.


Another channel-oriented publication quoted Novell's CEO, to whom Colado will report:

“Javier has a tremendous track record of executing against strategic partner and channel initiatives,” said Hovsepian. “This new role is critical to Novell’s continued growth and success and Javier is the right leader to continue to drive our channel strategy, identify and recruit new partners, and champion our internal transformation.”


From echannelline.com, which is very Novell-friendly:

Colado has been with Novell since 2006, serving as Area General Manager and Vice President for Western Europe, Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Novell, he held senior executive positions with McAfee and Lucent Technologies.


Joe Panettieri wrote:

Javier Colado, Novell’s new channel chief, faces some clear challenges. Many pundits say Colado has to strengthen Novell’s SUSE Linux partner ranks. But in reality, The VAR Guy believes, Colado has to build a bridge between vastly different software islands. Here’s why.

Sure, you know Novell has been gaining some momentum with SUSE Linux and the company has recruited more than 2,000 ISVs (independent software vendors) to back SUSE Linux. And that momentum will continue this week when Novell participates in Lenovo’s first server announcements at Interop.


Panettieri also submitted this to Seeking Alpha, which he hasn't done in a while (he runs his own media network):

Novell (NOVL) named Javier Colado to oversee the company's partner programs on September 12. Many pundits say Colado has to strengthen Novell’s SUSE Linux partner ranks. But in reality, I think Colado has to build a bridge between vastly different software islands.

Novell has recruited more than 2,000 ISVs (independent software vendors) to back SUSE Linux. And that momentum will continue this week when Novell participates in Lenovo’s (LNVGY.PK) first server announcements at the Interop trade show.


Also channel-related was the following article about PlateSpin's new strategy.

Workload management solutions vendor PlateSpin has revealed its new channel business model, which the company claims enriches financial rewards for partners. PlatesSpin, which is part of Novell, reckons that its new reseller programme focuses on growing partner sales and profits and offers one of the highest margins available in the industry today.


Lastly, a former Noveller is seen moving between companies.

Butterfield is managing partner of SageCreek partners, and previously served as group president at Symantec, and CEO of Altiris. Butterfield has also served at Vinca Corporation, Novell, and WordPerfect Corporation.


Marketing



Novell has begun reviewing itself.

Software company Novell is conducting a review for an agency to support its PR function in North America.

Ian Bruce, Novell's director of global PR, said the selected firm will primarily aid media relations for the company, which produces Linux, a rival to Microsoft's Windows operating platform.


This was covered also here. Is Novell looking for an identity?

The YouTube user known as "NovellVideo" (maybe a marketing guy) keeps pushing Novell adverts into YouTube. Here is "Kernel".



Ogg Theora



The Director of Electronic Marketing at Novell also had this video of her pushed onto YouTube.



Ogg Theora



That's all for today. Gosh, that was long.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Social Control Media Does Not Improve Reach, It Wastes a Lot of Time
many people still think that no presence in Social Control Media necessarily means invisibility
Links 02/06/2026: New York Times Debunks "Hey Hi (AI) Layoffs" (Excuse, False Narrative), Sheinbaum Publicly Bemoans US Meddling
Links for the day
What Efforts to Cancel Richard Stallman Ought to Teach Us About the Media, Including Very Large British Publishers
Richard Stallman is like a modern-age Alfred Dreyfus
 
Slop Prompting is Not a Coding Skill and Slop Deserves Shunning
Red Hat is hypocritically shunning the very same thing it keeps promoting
IBM colleagues "handed out a PIP and then right after the end date they are gone"
Some go into early 'retirement' to save face
SLAPP Censorship - Part 96 Out of 200: When You Receive Death Threats From Anonymous Sockpuppets/Burner Accounts Connected to People Who Strangle Women and Tell Women to Kill Themselves
Women are not objects and my wife ought not be mentioned in "threats to kill" (how cops have described this)
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: A Tale of Two Antónios - Introducing the Other António
António Costa
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 02, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 02, 2026
Advertisements as Articles in The Register MS
Trust in media
Despite Mass Layoffs and Culls Dubbed "Buyouts" Google's Debt Doubled in a Year and It's Desperate for Money (to Pay Salaries and Bills)
Google and GAFAM in general have mass layoffs because they have no clear route towards profitability
Gemini Links 02/06/2026: Arch Linux WriterDeck and Papyrix Reader
Links for the day
Bloggers Still Have Considerable Impact on This Planet
Nowadays, in academia almost anywhere in the world, there's growing expectation that lecturers will spend not much of the time doing research or even teaching
The Firing Line Against Techrights
Tomorrow we'll tell a story about campaigns to intimidate us with death threats
The Cyber Show on the Fight Against Technofascism
It's very long (all combined), but nevertheless refreshing
After Threats to Greenland Northern Europe Seems to be Moving Away From Microsoft Windows Even Faster
The facts on the ground are, more people/businesses/institutions "get the message"
Claim of 500+ IBM Red Hat Layoffs With Termination Next Month
IBM is doing great... at hiding internal affairs
Slop Did Not Rewire Democracy, It's a Giant Flop
we already see slop giants accepting they'll never make money
The Register MS Embeds in Articles "SPONSORED LINKS" That Link to "AI" Ponzi Scheme/Scam
The circular financing giants are allocating budget for the spam, as do the banks (lenders)
Many Countries Divest From Microsoft
new numbers at statCounter today
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: A Tale of Two Antónios - On the Campaign Trail in Brussels
Part 1
SEO is an Acronym That Stands for Slop Engine Orientation
The Web changed a lot when Web directories, portals, and then social control media gained popularity
IRC Network OFTC is Shedding Off Servers
Down to 17
Julian Assange's Counsel Jennifer Robinson Has Just Won an Award
Jennifer Robinson is relatively young
Schweizerische Bundesbahnen (Swiss Federal Railways) and Richard Stallman
It seems like RMS is receiving endorsement or at least belated recognition from very high-profile institutions
Almost 30 Years After Rob Malda Made Slashdot It Still Inspires New Implementations
Maybe the issue isn't Slash per se, just the complexity of it (which SoylentNews complained about in the past)
Links 02/06/2026: "The Infosec Phrasebook", 'Perfect Randomness' and "Leaving the Tech World Professionally"
Links for the day
Faking Demand for Slop: Google's Search Prompt Becomes Slop Prompt (Bait, Switch, Fake Usage)
If there is no consent, then it's unsustainable
When You Give People (or Companies) Money to Buy Your Own Products and Then Call It "Revenue"
A lot of modern "economics" don't benefit ordinary people (all they get is high inflation rates); they're devaluing money by faking economic activity
IBM is Self-Detonating, the Cheeto-Infused Rally is Another Con by Don
pump and dump
"Quantum" as the "Next Big" Bubble
disappointing and delivering nothing
Links 02/06/2026: "$1.5 Trillion Defense Budget Benefits Billionaire Cheeto Mussolini Supporters", US "Plans to Criminalize Sleeping Outside"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 02/06/2026: Organising Oneself and Killing Off Distracting "Notifications"
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 95 Out of 200: The Growing Risk of Tolerating Men Who Abuse and Physically Assault Women
FOSS should not be a "safe harbour" or "hideout" for criminals
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 01, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, June 01, 2026
Rust is a Disaster for Both GNU and Linux, But 'Linux' Foundation (GKH) Keeps Promoting It Despite the Problems
And non-GPL licences
IBM's CEO and his "pump and dump scheme" ("Arvind's lies about quantum")
Don't be misled by Wall Street
Gemini Links 01/06/2026: Xylophone Essay, Ham Radio, and Slop Contaminating USENET/Newsgroups
Links for the day
How to Tackle Corruption Effectively and Gradually
In my personal, humble experience
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: A Tale of Two Antónios
"Campaign for the Re-Appointment of the President"
Links 01/06/2026: Patent Applicant Disclosures Drop After the January 2025 IDS Surcharge, "China Exports Surveillance"
Links for the day
Links 01/06/2026: Irreversible GAFAM Bans and "The Pirate Bay Remains Resilient"
Links for the day
Running and Writing Sites for People, Not Bots (Including Search Engines)
Had those sites spent more time focusing on RSS feeds (not social control media "games") and less on SEO (trying to game search engines), they wouldn't be sobbing now
SBB, the Swiss Railroads, Want to Hear Richard Stallman
Can Dr. Stallman persuade key decision makers to adopt not only "Linux" but also Software Freedom (not the same thing), as he did in South American before? Or like he did in Kerala?
Resumes and Vanity Pages
Wikipedia is fast becoming a glorified marketing company
Trusting Microsoft is Foolish
Mr. Rossmann says they "gaslight customers" in their Web site, but it goes a lot further than this
Techrights in a Nutshell, in Very Generic Terms
"for dummies"
SLAPP Censorship - Part 94 Out of 200: SLAPP by Garrett's Litigation Buddy Started 20 Months Ago, He Has Not Even Put in His Defence Yet!
This is what happens when one deals with incels and misogynists who promote slop and Microsoft
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, May 31, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, May 31, 2026
Gemini Links 01/06/2026: Buckingham Palace Garden Party, TUI Annoyances, Lateral Thinking with Withered Technology
Links for the day