There’s been a lot of buzz the past couple of days about a Windows-only virus that has hit the Internet – the Conficker worm. Expected to be un-leashed tomorrow, on April 1, the potential damage the virus might cause is still unknown, but it’s enough to keep users up at night worrying!
Though there is a patch for the virus, and while nothing at all might happen, there are an estimated 10 million infected PCs with Conficker and this is by no means is the only virus out there that threatens Windows machines. It’s estimated that computer viruses are constantly being introduced at a rate of thousands per day, as reported in a recent, and much discussed, 60 Minutes broadcast on computer virus threats.
Linux has always been a more secure environment, and with the recent release of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11, customers can have the functionality of a Windows operating system while dramatically minimizing the threat of virus, spyware, and malware attacks. Check out what a Linux desktop has to offer, it might help you sleep better.
The openSUSE project recently announced that it was selected as one of the 150 mentoring organizations for Google’s Summer of Code. In addition, the Mono project, another Novell sponsored open source initiative, announced that it will be participating in this great annual program. The Google Summer of Code helps student developers earn cash while contributing to open source projects.The deadline for students to get involved is this Friday, April 3. Go here for more information.
In the meantime, if you’ve got ideas on projects to help improve openSUSE and Mono, visit the openSUSE Ideas page or check out some suggestions for Mono-related student projects. Summer will be here in no time, so if you’re interested we encourage you to apply today.
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about President Obama’s interest in open source technology. He’s not alone; many other governments around the world have already mandated open source or, like the European Union, have moved to heavily favor it. Forbes asked Novell CMO John Dragoon to express his view on the debate.
SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 is finally here. Check out some of the cool new features and functionality that are now available with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop — from the latest version of OpenOffice.org Novell Edition to Silverlight on Linux with Moonlight 1.0. See the latest video post from Novells Grant Ho here.
Now that you’ve had a glimpse at what’s new in SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop through these video posts, let us know if you would like to learn more about how SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 can help your company reduce costs and increase productivity.
Today, Novell launched SUSE Linux Enterprise 11, the next generation of the world’s most interoperable platform for mission-critical computing from the desktop to the data center. SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 is the Linux that makes IT work as one.
SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 delivers innovations across the enterprise. The platform contains major enhancements to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and delivers two new extensions – SUSE Linux Enterprise Mono® Extension, the only product that enables customers to run fully supported Microsoft* .NET-based applications on Linux, and SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension, a clustering product that ensures uptime for mission-critical applications while slashing the cost of ownership for high availability. As the operating system for the next-generation IT infrastructure, SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 was designed using three core themes: ubiquity, interoperability and mission-critical computing.
I’m writing this from the Open Source Business Conference and the mood is very upbeat. Novell’s CEO Ron Hovsepian is keynoting OSBC with a message that Linux can help create the service-driven data center and pave the way for the new world of cloud computing.
The open source community has a lot to do with the development of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop and it’s a testament to their hard work, ingenuity and creativity that Linux continues to evolve and thrive. Novell contributes and participates in several open source projects including openSUSE, Gnome, Mono, and other developer groups. By working with the community and with our customers and partners, we are continuing to improve and enhance SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop as a desktop solution that is relevant and flexible for business use.
See Novell’s Grant Ho explain more about this to his friend …
Putting a Linux desktop into context goes beyond just talking about great features in a solid operating system. The latest release can positively impact the IT budget, cutting costs and boosting productivity. Linux today is accessible to the majority of workers, no matter if you’re a Linux veteran or considering a switch from an alternative. Novell’s Grant Ho explains how in his latest video presentation.
The New York Times recently reported that some economists now think 2009 might be “like 1929, but worse.” Great. But you won’t find many open source advocates among the doomsayers, most of whom harbor the belief that OSS will actually thrive in a downturn. Their logic is that as a recession bites IT departments will rush to save costs and find value, with OSS providing plenty of both. At Novell we dubbed this the “Wal-Mart Effect” and decided to test the hypothesis by looking at how Linux adoption might fare in 2009.
We asked IDC to conduct a worldwide survey of more than 300 IT executives. The survey asked participants about their plans for adopting Linux in the current recession, and some of the issues that would accelerate or inhibit adoption. The survey looked at Linux adoption on both the server and the desktop and was conducted a month ago, in February 2009. Results are surprising:
Overall, more than half of the IT executives we surveyed are planning to accelerate Linux adoption in 2009 because of the worldwide recession. For the server, 53 percent will increase adoption, and for the desktop 48 percent.
Growth in Linux adoption is common across the world and in the verticals we looked at – government, financial, manufacturing and retail
On the server side, existing Linux deployments will grow in scope and scale, and for many organizations Linux will become the primary server platform. We found that 49 percent expect Linux to be their primary server platform within 5 years
On the desktop, we expect Linux to see much stronger adoption, especially for routine office workers, for technical workstations and in the higher education/K-12 market. Almost 50 percent of respondents will accelerate their adoption of Linux in 2009.
Virtualization and the move to cloud computing will further accelerate Linux adoption. To labor a bad pun, we may be under an economic cloud but the forecast is bright, with another technological cloud propelling Linux adoption in 2009 and beyond. You can get a complete copy of the IDC report here.
Customers are looking for ways to be more flexible and save money. Using Linux offers a great solution – but there are still some questions. For example: Linux OS might save me money, but isn’t it hard to use? Can end users in my company be as productive with Linux? Isn’t it easier for me to purchase laptops or desktops with Windows? Watch Grant Ho’s latest video for answers to these common questions.
This week Cisco made a major announcement about their new Unified Computing System, a solution that helps customers deploy mission-critical applications in a virtualized, high-performance data center. The Cisco Unified Computing System unites computational, network, and virtualization resources into a seamless system, simplifying its setup, helping customers to improve business metrics, and enabling timely resource provisioning.
Novell has worked closely with Cisco to deliver SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as part of the Unified Computing Solution, with join services and support. SUSE Linux Enterprise is certified to run on the Cisco Unified Computing System as a stand-alone operating system or as a guest operating system on VMware virtualization, and Cisco will act as an OEM for SUSE Linux Enterprise so customers can buy a complete, fully-supported solution.
We’re very pleased to support Cisco on this strategic initiative.
