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Novell Headed To Linux Enterprise Desktop In Asia

Posted by simoniker on from the desknux dept.

Bill Kendrick writes "Novell's Asia-Pacific division is working on Linux desktop trials in Hong Kong and Malaysia, with the expectation that Linux's adoption on enterprise desktops will continue to grow. They expect many more companies to start embracing it within the next 12 months." A spokesperson from Novell comments: "I don't see it as a watershed where everybody's running Linux desktops, but you'll start to see the emergence of some examples of companies that have embraced Linux and are going down that path."

10 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. More to embrace than meets the eye by millahtime · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The more that an open desktop is embraced the more that open standards are embraced stopping big companies like M$ from having closed standards.

    Can't do business if you can't share information.

    --
    Evolution or ID?
  2. Partnering for a domestic content rating? by G4from128k · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This raises the possibilty that Novell will partner with some Chinese software firm in order to pass China's impending domestic software content laws. I'm sure that the Chinese government would give Novell a nice domestic content seal of approval if Novell brings some IP and perhaps $$$ to the Chinese table.

    --
    Two wrongs don't make a right, but three lefts do.
    1. Re:Partnering for a domestic content rating? by coupland · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Surely you're joking right? You're not actually contending that Novell has the business volume and financial muscle to sweeten the pot for a nation that boasts a population of 1.3 billion? China doesn't need Novell, their economic policy is quite simple: "We have such an enormous population that we can afford to have exclusionary trade policies and it won't hurt us." Whether this is true or not isn't something I care to debate, but the fact of the matter is they don't want to fill the coffers of *any* North American businesses. Be it Microsoft or Novell.

    2. Re:Partnering for a domestic content rating? by coupland · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Run on over to Novell's website and look at their press releases. Novell has been involved in creating the whole chinese infrastucture

      I ask this with all respect and seriousness: "Are you on dope?" No, what I mean is that I took your comment on good faith and went to look at the Novell web page. The only thing on the Press Releases web page is the press release from today, March 1st. And there's nothing on the Corporate Press Releases page even remotely related to China. Under International Press Releases there isn't even a section for China. Did you think I'd be too lazy to check their web site on your suggestion?

      Now as for being wrong, I'm not. China is well aware that their infrastructure is based on Cisco hardware and Intel-based PCs and Microsoft software. That's why you see things like the Dragon chip and threats of domestic software quotas. China wants to transition their population from importing these technologies from western companies and develop them locally. Whether it be Novell or Microsoft, China doesn't want to import all their technology from a potentially hostile nation. You know, a nation with a pre-emptive strike policy?

      And furthermore, how can anyone with a straight face say that Novell can sweeten the deal for the Chinese government by offering IP? We're talking Linux on the desktop here, what IP does Novell control that has relevance to Linux on the desktop???

  3. Novell on the move by KingDaveRa · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think this is Novell's biggest Linux move since buying SuSE, seemingly putting some weight behind it. I'd be interested to see how they fare out in the asian countries.

    China will love them, what with the red colour scheme and all...

  4. East great place to start by millahtime · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The east is a great place to start. They are embracing technology over there greatly. The newest cell phones and other technology are going on there. Plus the east (including china and india) has 1/3 of the worlds population. Pretty smart place to start.

    --
    Evolution or ID?
  5. Asian Markets... by SisyphusShrugged · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Asian Markets work very much off of a piracy basis for their software, the large amount of software not being paid for or used within the context of a western office environment.

    This appears to me to be another part of the trend of companies salivating over the numbers...(Ooohh, 500 Quadrillion-Billion-Monillion people in China, thats a lot more than America!)

    --
    Post apocalyptic gaming goodness
    1. Re:Asian Markets... by RailGunner · · Score: 4, Insightful
      And that piracy is a big reason why Linux can work so well in the Far East. When you have a culture, or class of people, that are used to just pirating what they want, then it's a pretty easy sell to say - instead of dropping a few bucks on a pirated OS that you really can't verify whether or not it's been tampered with, here take this free, open source OS.

      Now, once the market in Asia is set up that it predominantly runs Linux - I think there will be a huge market that opens up for custom software for Linux, that could be a boon to the US economy - selling custom code and service to the large economies of Asia.

      And since Linux is free, and represents Freedom, maybe the people there will realize how great freedom is and want more of it.. putting pressure on the tinhorn communist dictators that run the region.

      Exporting freedom and capitalism never hurts...

  6. Apps for Linux desktop by prostoalex · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Here's the list of the best-selling software titles for 2003 (by quantity sold, not dollars fetched):
    1. TurboTax 2002 Deluxe
    2. Norton Antivirus 2003
    3. Turbo Tax 2002
    4. Norton Antivirus 2004
    5. TurboTax 2002 Multi State 45
    6. Taxcut 2002 Deluxe Block
    7. Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade
    8. Microsoft Office XP Student and Teacher Edition
    9. Taxcut 2002 State Block
    10. Norton Internet Security 2003

    You can see that tax software is huge thing for a bunch of people to have on their desktop. Office suite is another. Internet security (not just antivirus, but user-friendly firewall, port manager and other utilities).

    Office is pretty much covered with OpenOffice, so that's done. As for Internet security tools, I am not sure which ones exist for the end user, but perhaps industry could come up with some.

    Tax software. Is there a good tax package for Linux, allowing those millions of accountants, small business owners and middle-class Joe's like you and me file their taxes?

    Out of free (of charge) software that is getting huge market share of desktop, what would the Linux equivalent of:
    - Kazaa
    - Real Player
    - ICQ/AIM (ok, Gaim is a good alternative)

  7. Baby steps please! by BCW2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A step at a time, first networks, then the desktop. The domination by Linux will not happen overnight. How long did it take M$ to get where it is? Look at where they are now, with all the mistakes(Win 3.0, 95, Me, Bob), that get repeated, over and over and ...... and they are still the biggest gorilla on the planet. Don't think the Linux world won't make a few, but we are (hopefully) smarter and have learned from the mistakes of others and won't repeat them.

    --
    Professional Politicians are not the solution, they ARE the problem.