Novell News

Network World has published an article written by Novell’s Matt Richards on mass customizing the operating system. Matt’s idea is pretty simple – let’s apply the principles used to customize products tailored for individual needs using the efficiencies of mass production to the operating system. If we can do this, we can achieve a more efficient, higher-performing operating system environment.

Read the article and tell us what you think.

With millions of people flooding the streets of the Capital and temperatures expected to be in the low teens today in D.C, one of the best places to see today’s historic swearing in ceremony may be right in front of your computer. Thanks to the Moonlight team, working late into the night last night with Microsoft on the open source implementation of Silverlight, Linux and Power PC Mac users will also be able view the Inauguration event streaming online.

For more information and to download Moonlight go here.

- from Kerry Kim, Product Marketing Manager for SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time at Novell

In the past couple of months, the Securities Technology Analysis Center (STAC), an independent provider of performance measurement services for the financial services industry, released no less than four separate reports involving Linux real time operating systems from Novell and Red Hat. These reports are important because they provide financial institutions with a benchmark for latency and throughput–measurements that impact the speed and amount of information trading firms can use in executing transactions.

The reports can be confusing though, as they claim each vendor offers the “highest throughput”, or the “lowest latency”, or both. How can this be? How can both operating systems come out on top?

In this case, the devil is in the details and the timing. The results in each report are valid, at least as of the date they were published. And if you read the reports, and check the dates closely, you’ll see that SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time delivers the best possible combination of high throughput and low latency for market data systems based on Reuters Market Data System (RMDS).

But don’t take my word for it. Read the most recent reports and let me know what you think.

Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, HP unveiled its latest netbook, the Mini 2140 Notebook PC, which is expected to be available later this month. According to early reports here and here, this latest HP device offers users a sleek, light-weight, durable notebook with long-life battery power.

One thing that isn’t new about this Mini-Note is choice of operating system. The device will be available with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, giving customers an extremely cost-effective computing option. The new HP Mini 2140 Notebook PC with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is just another way to love Linux.

Linux Magazine has peered into its crystal ball and picked Novell as one of its “Top 20 Companies to Watch in 2009”. The companies on the list were described as vendors who will be compelling in the year to come and have a high probability of helping their customers save some funds in 2009.

Linux Magazine notes our SUSE Linux Enterprise Server Subscription with Expanded Support program as well as our groundbreaking partnership with Microsoft and the development work being undertaken as part of that partnership.

The Top 20 list is available here (registration required). See the Novell writeup on slide 6.

Novell CMO, John Dragoon, sat down this week to chat with The VAR Guy, Joe Panettieri, about Novell’s strategy from partners to products. Joe focuses on five key questions:

1. How fast is SUSE Linux Enterprise sales growing and what role does Microsoft play?
2. Is Novell attracting new ISVs to its Linux distribution?
3. Does Novell need to do more clearly communicate that it is more than a Linux company?
4. Will Novell open source GroupWise?
5. What’s Novell’s partner strategy?

To hear John’s responses, check out the The VAR Guy podcast here.

The Linux Foundation has launched the “I’m Linux” video contest, where participants create a video to showcase what Linux means to users and to inspire new users. In true community-style anyone can participate and everyone is invited to vote on the videos. For more contest details and rules, go here.

As a board member of the Linux Foundation, Novell thinks this is a great opportunity for the Linux community to unleash their inner directors on behalf of Linux. For inspiration, check out these Novell Linux videos, here, here and here.