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Red Herring Looks at Corel's Linux Strategy
Wellspring writes "Red Herring's done an article on Corel's Linux strategies. Interesting overview of what they're doing, but they seem to have half a hundred complaints about everything Corel is doing."
Anyone notice that "Newlix" is just a little bit like "GNUlix? I wonder if they got it from /.
If tits were wings it'd be flying around.
Inluding that inflatable Tux in their distribution. The only problem is finding a safe (ie: no contact with heaters and no danger of piled-up books falling on it) place to put him.
Damn, my place is a mess... maybe I really should clean up sometime.
Corel as a company seems sort of Wishy-Washy.
What ever happened to that office suite all in java that was supposed to revolutionize the office suite biz?
It seems they are the first ones to jump on a hot market and then when they get burned the first ones to jump off. Just watch, they will be the first ones to abandon Linux if the market starts to go south.
Investing in a company with 8 employees and a good idea (hopefully good talent) could work well, as opposed to the usual - having a good idea, a zillion employees and the "appearance" of automation or creativity.
Maybe I am naieve, but something like this has got to work sometime.
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
- Backing the StrongArm chip via the Netwinder series. The article briefly mentions the Netwinder, but doesn't do justice to how important Corel was in getting the Linux port onto SA hardware for the rest of us who would like to move away from the 'x86 family.
- The free download of Corel's GUI based Word Perfect 8 software.
- Adding further US corporate branding and marketing experience to the Linux OS (with Caldera and Red Hat)
- IIRC, they also participated against MS in the US DOJ trial, didn'they?
- My final point...Corel Draw. I tell ya, if I could buy it for Linux right now, money would be changing hands.
There's probably more things which I would count as postive moves, but in the interest of brevity I'll skip it and say that for me the only redeeming part of the Red Herring article is that it mentioned that folks who report on investment are finally giving Corel a decent break in the news.Well, that's my 2 cents worth.
...Open Source isn't the only answer -- but it's almost always a better value than the alternatives...
Hey there. I wonder if Michael Cowplan will address this article in his upcoming interview? About the article: I agree, for the most part, with the author's position. Corel does seem to be jumping on the Linux bandwagon. However, I have always had the feeling that Corel was on the verge of breaking. It's just a feeling I get. Also, I feel the Linux may be Corel's Last Change(tm), because MS Office seems to have completely covered Windows-based desktops. There was a time when you attached documents using WordPerfect format in emails. Now it's all Office 97 and 2000. I hope they GPL(or at least LGPL) the Corel Suite. I realize it's unlikely, but with a value-added retail package including clipart, fonts, and other proprietary tools, I would probably buy the retail package. Corporations definetly would, I think, as well as the general populace(who probably couldn't download, compile, and install a suite sucessfully). Dave
Barclay family motto:
Aut agere aut mori.
(Either action or death.)
The most important Corel feature in the Linux world (and likely to be the most profitable) is their Corel Linux distribution. No mention is made of it, only Corel's acquisitions. In fact, Corel's stock price is mentioned, but no mention is made of the primary reason that Corel stock recenty jumped: the annoncement that they plan on providing a way to run Windows apps (ala Citrix) under Corel Linux.
So, what was this article supposed to be about, exactly, and why did the author not perform research? This really did not deserve the Slashdot Effect.
They should stick with ms windows. Their preference to windows is evident in the way many of the tools under their Linux distribution look like windows tools, ie The file manager.
I doubt that it's just a conincidence that the more general questions raised about Corel's plans in the article seem to be pretty much the same as those raised in the current thread about interview topics for Corel CEO Michael Cowpland. The questions about Corel's long term Linux strategy are apparently quite obvious to anyone who thinks about it. Of course the same thing could be said about a lot of companies that are jumping on the Linux bandwagon.
There's no point in questioning authority if you aren't going to listen to the answers.
Corel is RedHerring's enemy #1 right now. This is not the first anti-Corel story they have written. Their "Investment Editor" R. Scott Raynovich wrote a scathing review of Corel about a month ago. He stated that Corel was "jumping on the Linux bandwagon", which seems kind of weird considering they've been porting their office suite for over a year now.
RedHerring's major problem is with Corel's management. And they have some valid points there, but I think RedHerring is underestimating Corel's technology and Linux effort. The question is whether the management issues are real and will outweigh their Linux development effort.
Rarely have I seen a company the target of so many negative articles by one source.
Besides which, the gnome and kde file managers look and operate an awful lot like Explorer under Win98...hmm... Evil Plot or useful "feature", you decide...
In fact, there was far more detail on the acquisitions -- presumably because the author still had the press releases to hand -- than on Corel and why they might be making these acquisitions.
The author also fails to comprehend what Linux is -- okay, Newlix "write software for x86" and Rebel.com are moving to StrongARM. So what?
mutter, mutter, grumble, grr... Now I've thought about it, I'm cross...
-- Peter
Corel is still behind the game. They probably will be for a while, also. They are half-way embracing Open SOurce, and that is not winning friends on either side. Their main reason for making a Linux distro seems to be so they can try to dominate a platform software wise. They need to revamp themselves into a service-based company. Most of the newest and most profitable comanies in this endustry are simply service companies. I sincerely believe the days of selling software will be over in a few years.
+-- (Score:-1, Moderator on Power Trip)
About three weeks ago Corel's stock jumped from 15 to around 20, almost overnight. Was there any good speculation about this?
Half-a-hundred... that would be, umm, 50?
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"In Cyberspace, no one can hear you be sarcastic"
(Look at the bottom of the page.)
If they can't get their copyright dates right, why rely on them for anything else. Red Herring's just that.
Although not like the choking his first wife did when she saw the new girl friend. Mikey likes it! I'll bet he does.
Anyhoo, did the dimwits at DeadHerring check out the new Samba setup and comp it to NT? Nah, too intellectual.
Okay, I don't know about you folks, but I've watched Corel and it's CEO for a long time. And anyone here who thinks Corel is in Linux for the good of the Linux community needs their heads examined. Corel is doing this to merely try and boost their stock price. Corel doesn't care one little bit about Linux for the sake of Linux. They only care of Linux for the sake of a quick buck and if they are lucky stock price appreciation. If dedicated Linux companies are having a hard time making a buck, how goes Corel plan on competing in this area. It surely isn't on support. Corel's support is worse than Microsoft's. No folks, don't be fooled. Mr. Copeland is only looking out for himself and his wife's multimillion dollar gold breat plate evening attire.
Corel is at best a dodgy company with questionable finances looking for any lease on life. Red Herring is right to heap abuse on them.
Investing in a company with 8 people and a good idea is probaly as close to wrapping themselves in the spirit of the community which they are tring to court as Corel could possibly come.
I doubt that Redhat would have the guts to take a risk on a company like newlix, however their name could be a clue that it's not exactly the best risk in the world. Still, it's eight coders, a nice number, who probaly know each other fairly well, I think this will faciliate better coding and fostering of ideas on their part.
There is also the fact that they Don't have a finished product. This is a good thing, considering that puts them in a greater position to innovate. They are not tied to pre-existing software or the alienation ending support of a product would cause.
Assuming there aren't any more earthquakes in Taiwan, the IPC Direct deal is probaly also a good idea, despite the fact that it's probaly just a puppet for PC Chips over there. If IPC Direct can make some cheap chips, this will help out Newlix greatly.
Application hosting is bad, I hate it. I don't like the potential for other people alienating customers with Newlix's stamp on the alienation, if i'm Newlix. Bad decision.
In the end, this article says more about redherring than it does about corel or newlix. Unnamed sources, 'message board posters', Unqualified people, and generally missing the point on pourpose in an attempt to attack Corel. Sad. Real sad.
-[ World domination - rains.net ]-
What I'm not sure of is the economic merits of Corel Linux.
Note: I installed it last night on my laptop to replace a SuSE install. That went quite well; it took not much more than a cfengine run combined with dropping a previously-tuned XFree86Config file into place to get it acceptably configured, which was a whole lot more satisfactory than an attempt over Christmas holidays to install Debian on it.
(Aside: This laptop has had TurboLinux, SuSE, Debian 2.1, Red Hat, and now Corel Linux installed on it. With the happy merit that I have more-or-less generalized the set of stuff I need to fiddle with after install. Reinstalling means installing a base system + cfengine and then running a cfengine script to get networking fixed up. I probably ought to see if this all copes well with FreeBSD, NetBSD, and OpenBSD too, as I have CDs handy...)
Based on the "Day 1" results, I'm reasonably pleased with Corel Linux, as this was the least painlful install. (Well, grumble, grumble, Corel's package selection tool required a whole lot of mousing around, and having sprained a wrist the night before, the word "painless" may only be treated as true in a conceptual sense...)
You might expect that to bode well for the economics, but that is a questionable assumption.
- I didn't pay Corel anything for the install, as this was a $2 CD from LinuxCentral.
- I then proceeded to NFS mount a cache with chunks of Debian/Unstable to upgrade it. Mostly complete, and almost a seamless upgrade.
It's all well and good for there to be a bunch of startups getting tossed in to produce "useful stuff." Unfortunately, "useful stuff" does not necessarily translate into profitable revenue streams, which is what Corel truly needs.I'd be game to send Corel a little something; I expect that sending them $10 would be a better deal for them than spending $40 on a boxed set...
(More likely is the option of buying some shares in Corel... One of the few entertaining things I could do with the cash sitting in my SD-RRSP account when I was forced to sell off some telecom stocks, gripe, gripe, fascist CRTC...)
Which implies that if the Debian Project does a good job of upgrading the "public" stuff, there will be little reason for there to be continuing revenue streams for Corel. Unlike the situation where people really do need to get upgraded CDs for RHAT or Caldera or SuSE.
If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Slashdot is a complete waste because the comments near the top always get more pageviews as it were. The system really needs to randomize the posts (and their responses) so everyone gets a fair view. I mean, after a page or two of comments who reads it? If you read this and agree, and you are a moderator, push me up a point. Perhaps the folks at Slashdot will get a clue and change their system. I signed in as Anonymous becuase I did not want to increase my "Karma" if I get moderated up.
Corel is tired of being creamed by microsoft. Wordperfect used to be the standard now its office. Corel sees a way to be a big player in the future. Linux will eventually displace windows,not because I want it to but because its better.(price,stability...) Corel will then be the standard again with wordperfect.(so they hope) Linux also lets them create there own os, they can then weave wordperfect into it like internet explorer in windows. They are hoping companies will say "look we can use corel linux with all these buisness apps totally integrated for a whole lot less than using windows". Also think outside of the us market. Look at places that don't have the money for windows. Big market for corel in places like africa,asia,south america.
I think its way past time people cut Corel some slack. Articles and analysts have been trashing Corel for so long because of their history. But the fact is that even though they might have jumped on the bandwagon, at least they did it before everyone else. They had a version of WP finished in late 98, meaning they started a year or two before it was popular to do linux stuff. And they have done a lot for the OS. The WINE contributions, the the release of an established office product and the support of a large and weighty company. At the moment they have a decent distro and are set to have the office suite and draw products out soon. I would say they have a pretty competent strategy and should get some credit.
is pretty good actually.... for newbies that is. I have no problem with setting up RedHat, Mandrake or COL. I haven't bothered with Debian but when 2.2 comes out I will probably give it a shot. Corel Linux is a good choice for newbies, at least for now. What would be nice is if Debian or Slackware would get easy enough for newbies to install and configure, without compromising its stability and reliability. What remains to be seen is what they will do when KDE 2.0 and KOffice 1.0 come out. I wonder if they will try to make it hard for their distro users to run KOffice.
Uh pretty simple reason why they ditched java
#1 just too slow (even on pII-300's a year ago)
#2 Sun kept messing with Java, they couldn't figure out what GUI to use
Several complaints of Corel jumping on the bandwagon. First of all, they've been on the wagon for quite some time now with Wordperfect and the Netwinder. But secondly, who cares?
Why should anyone get upset that someone is jumping on the bandwagon? This is Free Software. Jumping on the bandwagon is the whole point of Open Source. I don't see anything at all in the GPL, Artistic, BSD, MIT, QPL or MPL that requires someone to get the approval of some self-appointed community before they can use, distribute or modify the software.
A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
The point that a lot of the comments have missed is really, really simple: it's not about the Linux community, or whether Linux is a trend or whatever.
Cowpland's job is to make money FOR THE STOCKHOLDERS. You know, "increase shareholder value by doing Cool Stuff." Right out of Cryptonomicon.
In my opinion, it's right for finance mags, which focus on long-term investment value, to question the long-term value of large investments in Linux. Such magazines are, by their nature, conservative.
The upside is that most companies won't have to -- as long as they have an X-based or command line Unix program, it's not a big deal to ship a Linux product too.
_Deirdre
Getting people to jump on the bandwagon is the point. I read a post a few pages up that blasted Corel for it's attempt at a pure Java office suite, which they dropped when Java lost its luster.
This is the best the Open Source community can hope for. If companies began to port their products to Linux, then lose interest when after three years Linux goes nowhere, who can blame the company for giving up?
People who are moaning for a Linux port and simultaniously critizing the results as a sell-out bandwagon effort need to stop and figure out what side they're on.
Before Corel Linux came out, Corel was a company on the verge of disaster. Their little office-suite wasn't doing too well, and they were getting stomped by the competition in the Windows world. Corel needs a quick miracle to save themselves.
Then, along comes Linux. A free, open-source OS that's gaining popularity like mad. If Corel could somehow gain control of Linux, then all their problems are solved. Since the kernel and everything has already been written, all Corel has to do is make it easy to install (in other words, Windows-like), and voila. Their problems are solved.
In other words, Corel doesn't care anything about Open-Source or Linux. They just want something to help save their asses.
The evidence is obivous: You have to pay for the different versions of their distribution (or download a 650mb ISO image from their website--after you've registered your name and email address with them), and their new Linux office-suite isn't going to be open-source.
To sum it all up, Corel just couldn't win over anyone in the Windows world, so now they're trying to win over the Linux community. Like I said, they don't *care* about open-source or anything. Linux is just a way for them to save their asses.
You were running COJ a year ago? Why? Corel abandoned the project in 1997 -- almost three years ago. You make a habit of running three-year-old unsupport pre-release software? You can't even find COJ on their website; where did you get it? Hmmm?
COJ was sluggish running on Java 1.0.2 on my Pentium Pro 200 three years ago, but it works pretty well on IBM's JDK 1.1.8 on my dual Pentium II 450. (I kept a copy of COJ).
#2 Sun kept messing with Java, they couldn't figure out what GUI to use
Says who? In 1997 there was one Java GUI and there still is: the AWT. The Swing Set didn't exist when COJ was dropped. Java 1.1 itself was new. Anyway, Swing is not a new GUI any more than Motif is a replacement for X-Windows. Learn a little about GUI's.
What Corel did discover was that the AWT was missing some critical functions needed to support an office app. Most of these gaps are filled with the Java 2D API. Still, Java is not the best language to write an office app in...
All tolled COJ was a pretty impressive effort considering that Corel had to write all of its own high-level GUI classes themselves.
Your post is just more run-of-the-mill Java bashing. Yawn.
Corel's big risk right now is not getting into the Linux distribution market, but rather, banking on the idea that people who have overdosed on the open source & free software craze will actually come back down to earth and pay some money for good software.
Linux is STILL the underdog OS, and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. One of the major reasons for this is the lack of "serious software". Yes, it's great for servers, and companies are now adopting it for just that purpose. But for most companies, and almost all households, servers are a very small portion of the hardware out there. Companies need to be sure that the OS they stick on their employees' laptops and desktops has the software they need to get the job done. And we're not talking about engineers here, we're talking secretaries, HR people, marketing, etc.
A good port of WordPerfect, especially if bundled with a very easy-to-use distribution of Linux, could go a LONG way to "common adoption" in the officeplace. CorelDRAW can only boost it further. This is the thing that puts Corel's possible future a notch above even Red Hat -- this company now has both the OS -and- some needed applications.
Yes, yes, I know. StarOffice. I use StarOffice, and it's a whole lot of not bad. But the big target market for Linux right now are *newbies*. People who don't know better. People who install Windows 98 and don't even know Netscape is an alternative browser. These people are not going to install Red Hat, go out and find StarOffice on Sun's website, download it, and install it. It's just not going to happen. SlashDotters seem to often forget that the average joe on the street has the IQ of celery compared the Linux weenies that visit this site. But unfortunately, that's where the *majority* of the cash flow is coming from. Why do you think the iMac has proven such a hit among the first-time computer buyers?
I bought some Corel stock, and I'm expecting good things from them. The GraphOn Windows compatibility deal they've landed looks very good to me. I've read nothing but good reviews of their Linux package (at least for those points where mass market cares -- such as easy of setup and ease of use). And they're going to be at the Linux Expo in Paris in February.
Go Corel!
--
If it's not important, you can probably find it in...
If it's not important, you can probably find it in...
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It's posible that with all the money they are not making they realise that doom is at hand.
Knowing this, and perhapse being more pissed at Microsoft than we think they are Corel is giving away what little money it has in the hopes that the fight will continue?
Why not, if they do make a come back (with the help of linux) their investments will pay back a lot more than the cost. If they go broke (and assuming the investments are strucured as giveaways, not shares in the startups) then they might have funded the resitance army for years to come....
Tokyo Joe
...half a hundred complaints...
Isn't that much, and
Interviews: CEO of Corel
[or something similar]
Any way you look at it, maybe this shouldn't've been posted...
Check out Project Upper/Mute, an all-around awesome compiler fra
I actually read the article and thought that it was well written and presented the information in a fair a balanced(somewhat) manner. A complete contrast to the Raynovich article on Corel just before Christmas. His was a scathing personnal attack on Cowpland full of retoric, half truths and junk. And he is listed as an investment editor. That aside, the article points out that maybe Cowpland is not the foolish stock promoter and his investments in these Linux companies may be part of a strategy to provide an alternative OS, applications and support. Exactly what Microsoft needs to show that they have competition and save themselves from breakup. Ironic since Corel was almost destroyed by M$.
Today's vices may be tomorrow's virtues.
Speaking to what Corel needs to change, but speaking more to their Linux distribution:
Corel Linux is pretty nice. They actually are making quite a few "friends". It's the business that I am dubious about. E.g., the version of kppp that they have in their distribution has a tendency to not dial properly (they have a custom version of KDE, they have announced an intention to go with the std. version when KDE2 is released). I ran into the problem. So have many others. wvdial gets around the problem, so it's no major hassel, once you know the trick. However, their target audience appears to be Windows users who won't know the trick, and perhaps won't have access to wvdial (unless they buy a Debian distribution).
Second point: su appears to not require a password for the non-superuser accounts. This strikes me as dangerous.
Third point: The Corel Update facility is very nice, but it doesn't have the flexibility of dselect or apt-get. What I keep wanting is an update utility that will take the package info that I supply, and scan the list of sites for matching packages, then ask me to make a choice, and perform the updates requested. Instead one appears to need to know ahead of time what one wishes to install. Possible, but annoying, as I don't want root to browse the internet, but only root can do the installs. So I need to keep switching back and forth between root and the user account. (I still haven't gotten GNAT installed from Debian unstable).
OTOH, this is a first edition. Presumably the later releases will improve.
I think we've pushed this "anyone can grow up to be president" thing too far.
I invested $50,000 into CORL when they were trading at 5 1/4 a share, after about 7 weeks they hit the high of 42 or so points and that was about the same time VA Linux IPO came out of hiding. All in all, i made $356,000. Sadly, this wasn't real money, however it shot me into first place in the stock market game for our high school ;) I have to say, this was the only good use I have had for linux in the last 2 years.