Bonum Certa Men Certa

Novell News Summary - Part III: More on the Financial Results, Novell Figures

Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church, Boston



THE BOSTON press had nothing particularly interesting do share about Novell other than financial news and this thrown-in mention.

The area is home to big employers such as State Street Corp., Genzyme Corp., Novell, Fidelity Investments, Raytheon Co., and Thermo Fisher Scientific. And the city's two convention centers brought more than 772,500 attendees to town in 2007.


It ought to be mentioned that here in Boycott Novell, some of our hecklers come from this region (near Novell's headquarters) and many come from Germany too. Even Novell employees comment here anonymously sometimes. That's why comments must be treated with suspicion and caution, even those appearing outside this Web site. We never censor any comments, not even when Novell employees post them from Novell's offices.

Finance





This is where most of the news is concentrated this week. The Var Guy, who has friends/informants at Novell (mostly Dragoon), tries to keep an optimistic view and maintain composure.

First, the good news: Novell’s quarterly net income actually beat Wall Street’s expectations by a penny per share. But net income was down 36 percent and revenue was down 7 percent compared to the corresponding quarter last year, according to the Associated Press. In stark contrast, Red Hat’s revenue and net income both rose significantly during that company’s most recent quarter.

Admittedly, a head-to-head comparison of Novell and Red Hat financials isn’t really fair. Red Hat doesn’t have Novell’s legacy baggage. Plus, Red Hat also has two popular open source product lines (Red Hat Linux and JBoss middleware) compared to Novell’s singular hit: SUSE Linux.


VNUNet writes to say that "Novell posts disappointing results" and it talks about the layoffs which are coming.

But the firm's employees have also been braced for further job cuts after an initial 100 cuts were announced earlier this month.


In previous coverage of these results [1, 2] we showed that the main (and maybe only) winner is Novell's CEO, who had received a generous package of benefits. For many good comments about Novell's poor results, see LinuxToday. Larry Dignan's article, which we referenced before, has reached CNET where one person says that "Novell ran into the arms of Microsoft to be embraced. What Novell should have known is that Microsoft's embrace of its competitors inevitably leads to their extinguishing."

For completeness, here are several more reports (none of great importance) from earlier in the week, i.e. before the results got announced:

Novell, Inc. - Financial and Strategic Analysis Review - companiesandmarkets.com adds new report

This report presents an in-depth business, strategic and financial analysis of Novell, Inc.. The report provides a comprehensive insight into the company, including business structure and operations, executive biographies and key competitors. The hallmark of the report is the detailed strategic analysis on the company.


Beacon Equity Issues Technical Trade Alerts on Market Movers: HGSI, NOVL, SYNA, JDSU, HAL, MSFT

Today's Trade Alerts include: Human Genome Sciences Inc. (Nasdaq: HGSI), Novell Inc. (Nasdaq: NOVL), Synaptics Inc. (Nasdaq: SYNA), JDS Uniphase Corp. (Nasdaq: JDSU), Halliburton Company (NYSE: HAL) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT).


Technical Trade Alerts on Market Movers: HGSI, NOVL, SYNA, JDSU, HAL, MSFT

The Trade Alert author also featured Novel’s collaboration with VMware to help software vendors build fSUSE Linux Enterprise-based virtual appliances:

“Novell Inc. (NOVL) shares fell 2.08% to hit $3.29 this morning. Novell engages in the development and integration of mixed information technology environments worldwide. … The company recently announced a broad collaboration with VMware to help independent software vendors (ISVs) build fully supported SUSE Linux Enterprise-based virtual appliances. The joint collaboration offers ISVs using VMware Studio a free evaluation redistribution of appliances built on fully supported SUSE Linux Enterprise, simplifying the process of creating virtual appliances. Both companies are also jointly working with ISVs to develop VMware Ready virtual appliances powered by SUSE Linux Enterprise.”


Stocks In Focus On Friday

Novell Inc. (NOVL) reported its first-quarter net income fell to $10.7 million, or 3 cents a share, from $16.8 million, or 5 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, Novell would have earned 7 cents a share. Revenue decreased to $214.9 million from $230.9 million a year ago, said the provider of open source software for businesses. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had forecasts, on average, earnings of 6 cents a share on revenue of $227.4 million.


Based on Novell's earnings call, Red Hat is an open source company and Novell executives acknowledge that Novell is not. To quote Dana Russell: "So from that standpoint, if you look at our model, and our model is really is different than Red Hat’s model, Red Hat’s model is an open source model. Our model is geared towards not only performing well with our open source products but also generating significant profitability and margins with these managed services that we sell on top of that."

Netware



There is nothing of significance here other than a couple of new articles that mention NetWare, namely:

i. Navigating throught DePauw's different Novell network drives: from F: to Z:

If you've ever logged into Novell, either from your own laptop or a University computer, you've noticed that the computer acquires several additional drives after logging in. What you might not know is just how each of those drives works and how they can be utilized to make your life a little bit easier.


ii. ESET Captures 54th VB100 Award

Virus Bulletin introduced its first VB100 award in 1998, and conducts several comparatives every year, rotating its platforms between Linux, Windows, Windows servers and Novell Netware.


Mail



It turns out that there's also a link between Barracuda and Novell, which is mildly interesting because Barracuda is suffering from software patents.

With message-level backup functionality, the Barracuda Backup Service can connect directly to Microsoft Exchange and Novell GroupWise to provide individual email backups for more granular restoration of user mailboxes and individual messages.


Identity Management



This is one of those areas where Novell is hoping for growth. It was only mentioned very, very briefly right here.

The system will share data with other Standard Life systems including Microsoft Active Directory, Novell e-Directory, Oracle Database and Oracle Internet Directory.


People



Eric Schmidt is possibly the best-known Novell veteran who's alive and his role at Novell is mentioned here.

Schmidt joined Mountain View-based Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) as chairman in March 2001 and as CEO in August of that year. Before that he was chairman and CEO of Novell Corp.


There is a corresponding press release:

Schmidt was recruited from Novell to build Google's corporate infrastructure, guide its rapid growth and manage product development using his well-seasoned perspective to complement the young company's needs.

[...]

(Media-Newswire.com) - PHILADELPHIA –- Eric Schmidt, whose 28-year career as an Internet strategist, entrepreneur and developer of innovative technologies was capped by his selection as Google chairman and chief executive officer in 2001, will deliver the commencement address at the University of Pennsylvania on Monday, May 18.


A former Novell employee has just become the CEO of AxisPointe.

Latimer has also previously served at Altiris--which was acquired by Symantec in 2007--as well as WordPerfect, Novell, PowerQuest, and Legato. AxisPointe is a developer of web-based software for managing facilities planning and post-construction customer service.


Sean Michael Kerner did some correspondences with Novell's staff. He picked up a comment from Justin Steinman.

"It's great that the U.K. government is embracing open source software. However, I don't expect the UK government to make the transition to 100 percent open source overnight," Justin Steinman, vice president of solution and product marketing at Novell, said in an e-mail to InternetNews.com.


Sean also had a much longer talk with Markus Rex, who is back to SUSE and Novell after some time at the Linux Foundation. From the interview:

It's not all about the code in the Linux ecosystem. Any Linux project needs leadership. Markus Rex is one such leader.

For most of the last year, Rex was the CTO of the Linux Foundation, on loan from his employer Novell. Now, he's back with Novell, where he is responsible for Novell's open source and open platform technologies, including SUSE Linux Enterprise. Rex has been working at SUSE Linux since 1999.

[...]

Q: Talking about your position at Novell, what's your role and what's the mission now?

This is a step back into something I'm very used to as compared to something that was totally new.

If we look at the state of Linux at Novell, Linux is certainly a core component of Novell's strategy.


Luboš Luňák, a Novell employee who builds SUSE, received some fame from KDE.

# Age: I always run out of fingers, and I already have my shoes off... # Located in: Prague, Czech Republic, my chair at home at the moment # Occupation: Developer at Novell/SUSE CZ


Memberships



We've found a couple more groups or councils where Novell participates. The first is IntraHealth Open, which was described thusly:

IntraHealth Open, whose goal is to improve health care in developing countries, has created an Open Council featuring such open source leaders as Red Hat, The Linux Foundation, GNOME, O’Reilly, and Novell.


There is also the growing family of Liberty Alliance.

The Internet Society (ISOC) has become a member of the global internet identity community Liberty Alliance's management board. ISOC joins 2009 Liberty Alliance board members from AOL, BT, CA, Fidelity Investments, Intel, Novell, NTT, Oracle and Sun...


Liberty Alliance was mentioned here before.

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Pushers of systemd Rewrite History (Richard Stallman Said UNIX "Was Portable and Seemed Fairly Clean")
Unlike systemd
Trajectory of The Register: From News Site/s Into "B2B"... and Into Microsoft Salespeople
Something isn't right at The Register
Doing My Share to Tackle Online Slop and SPAM
Trying my best to 'fix' the Web
Slopwatch: Fakes, FUD, Duplicates, and Charlatans Galore
The Web as we once know it is collapsing. Some opportunists try to replace it with low-quality slop.
The Register UK Seems to Have Become American and Management is Changing (Microsofter as Editor in Chief)
The Register 'UK' is now controlled by the Directions on Microsoft guy
 
Gemini Links 27/07/2025: DAW Mixer Chains and Simple Software
Links for the day
The Register MS is Inventing or Giving Air Time to New Conspiracy Theories so as to Distort the Narrative As High-Profile Agencies Fall Prey to Microsoft Holes
But the problem is holes, i.e. Microsoft making bad products; the problem is Microsoft
When You Tell You It's Free, Does That Mean No Charges (If So, Who's Paying and Why)?
there's "no free lunch"
Most Editors at The Register Are American, Including the Editor in Chief, a Decade-Long Microsoft Stenographer (Writing Prose to Sell Microsoft)
It's not easy to tell where the site is based (we tried) because it's hiding behind ClownFlare and CrimeFlare hasn't been well lately
"New Techrights" Soon Turns 2 (A Few Days Before the FSF Turns 40)
We have a lot more to say about LLM bots
When Silence Says So Much
Garrett, a 'secure' boot pusher, will need to defend himself in the UK High Court
The Register in Trouble
There is not much that can be done at this point
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, July 26, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, July 26, 2025
Misinformation in Social Control Media
Social control media passes around all sorts of tropes
Slopwatch: Fake Linux 'Articles' and Slopfarms With "Linux" in Their Names/Domains
throwing bots at "Linux" to make some fake articles
Links 26/07/2025: Amazon Shutdown in China, Russian Economy Slows
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/07/2025: History of Time (1988) and Gemini Games
Links for the day
Links 26/07/2025: 50 Percent Tariffs in Amazon, Dying Intel Offloads Network and Edge Group (NEX)
Links for the day
Blaming Programming Languages for Users' and Developers' Bad Practices
That's like blaming cars for drivers who crash into things
Many People Still Read Techrights Because It Says the Truth, Produces Evidence, and Does Not Self-Censor
Unlike so many other sites
The Register is Desperate for Money, According to The Register
I decided to check how they're doing as a business
Microsoft Finally Finds a Use Case for Slop?
Create low-quality chaff to shift the media's attention?
Microsoft Windows Lost 400 Million Users in a Few Years, Why Does The Register Double Down on Windows With New US Editor?
days ago they hired a new US editor
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, July 25, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, July 25, 2025
For Libel Reform One Must First Bring (or Raise) Awareness to the Issues and Their Magnitude
I myself know, from personal experience
Links 26/07/2025: Rationed Meals in the US and TikTok Repels Investments (Too Toxic)
Links for the day
Gemini Links 26/07/2025: "Bloody Google" and New People in Geminispace
Links for the day
Response to Solderpunk (Father of Gemini Protocol) About the Gemini Community
Solderpunk responds to non-sequitur
HTML and the Web Used to be Something a Child Could Learn, "Modern" Web is a Puzzle of Frameworks, Bloat, and Worse
When the Web was more like Gemini Protocol
New US Editor in The Register is 84% Microsoft/Windows Booster
It'll be worrying if it carries on like this
Links 25/07/2025: Slop Blunders and China Has Code of Conduct for Lawmakers in HK
Links for the day
Gemini Links 25/07/2025: Some Books and Babies and Capital
Links for the day
Links 25/07/2025: NOAA Cuts Endanger Lives, "Europe's Self Inflicted Cloud Crisis"
Links for the day
They Try to Lecture Us on Ethics
They even removed "master" from Microsoft GitHub
The Future of the Web is One Rendering Engine or 'Flavours' of Chrome
The future of the Web does not look bright at all
Best Sites Are Not Optimised for Any Browser, They Work Equally Well With All of Them
Red Hat (IBM) is making rubbish sites
YouTube is a Spamfarm, Slopfarm, and Clickfarm (a Lot of Numbers There Are Fake)
Those who don't fake look unpopular and unimportant
We Don't Do JavaScript and Pages Are Small
Thankfully Gemini Protocol has nothing like JavaScript
'Tech' is Not Technology
Some people use terms like 'Old Tech'
IBM's Debt Rose by Almost 10 Billion Dollars in the Past 6 Months Alone
The "hey hi" circus is coming to an end
Yes, Master
Gaslighting by actual racists
Microsoft Bribes and Buys Politicians to Tell Europe What to Do About Free Software (Which It's Attacking)
Microsoft: we speak for the thing that we are attacking! Follow the money...
Making Backups Quickly and Reliably
Backups are imperative, more so in an age of uncertainty, unpredictable weather, and worsening standards (quality of products going down while prices go up)
Techrights Investigation: Estimating the Point in Time LinuxIac Turned Into LLM Slop (Part of the Time)
Bobby Borisov got lazy
10th Month, Ten Weeks From Now, at Ten AM
In Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, July 24, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, July 24, 2025
A Nadella Memo Distracts From Microsoft's Cheapening Of the Workforce
Right now the "MSM" (mainstream media) is flooded/overwhelmed by garbage pieces that relay lies for Nadella
Vanishing Faces of GNU/Linux
Free software projects do not depend on any one person or company to still exist
Microsoft Says It Lost 400 Million Windows Users, Now It's Waiting for GNU/Linux to Stop Booting on 'Old' PCs
When it comes to Windows, Microsoft is fully aware of the issue and statements it made earlier this summer suggest it lost 400 million Windows users
Slopwatch: LinuxTechLab, linuxsecurity.com, LinuxIac, and More
Also: The Register's Microsoft agenda (new editor)
Gemini Links 25/07/2025: Gemtext Aware Titan Editor and Gemini Protocol Comeback
Links for the day