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Novell Makes More Open Source Moves
Roger Foss writes "Novell has announced it will release its cross platform iFolder file synchronization software as open source. This is pretty cool: far more transparent and easier to use than Unison or some of those friendly Rsync variants. iFolder does multi-master delta synchronization and is user friendly. The source software will be available at Novell's own Forge site and release under the GPL. This sure beats Novell's earlier open source efforts, when they released their proprietary IPX protocol stuff years ago. For those who want to try it, there's a live demo site that I doubt would withstand slashdotting."
Finally, mj01nir writes "According to Miguel de Icaza's web log, Chris Stone just announced that Novell will be moving the whole company to OpenOffice by the end of the year, and to Linux on the desktop a year after.
funny how things change, a few years ago I thought I had it made cause i had a CNE and now it's not worth crap....
Oh man, Linux and OpenOffice in a big US company!
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It just makes me so happy
In other news, SCO does something dispicable to ruin my good mood.
I have to admit I'm surprised its taken Novell this long to announce their move to Linux + OpenOffice.org given how long they've now had Ximian in the fold. I would've expected them to have announced their intention to do so a lot sooner.
:-)
This is a huge coup. Not only are IBM doing the same thing with their desktops (although they're porting MSOffice instead of using a Free office suite) but with Novell, one of the oldest Networking platform companies still surviving, announcing this on top of all their other efforts, people are really going to start taking notice and realising that maybe Linux truly is Prime Time for businesses now.
Then again... So far its only been companies that have a lot to do with Linux and Linux based services that have announced this. Would be very nice if someone like HP, Dell, or Gateway came out and got on the bandwagon. That would hold a lot more weight with the average IT manager or C-level management.
Still, slow small steps turn to huge gallops rather quickly in the IT world
Millions of Linux geeks across the globe orgasm in unison.
And the swap of 50 diskettes to build...
Did anyone else notice that the iFolder project page only mentions GNOME?
iFolder: integrated file sharing in the GNOME, Windows, and OS X desktops.
Also, iFolder is written in C#. I guess that comes with the territory.
Development Status: 2 - Pre-Alpha
Environment: Win32 (MS Windows), Gnome
Intended Audience: Developers, End Users/Desktop, System Administrators
License: GNU General Public License (GPL)
Operating System: MacOS, Windows, Linux
Programming Language: C#
Topic: File Sharing, Gnome, Filesystems
Putting the romance back into necromancer.
...but I'm not sure what...
Novell has announced NetWare will cease to exist as a standalone product
Um, "cease to exist" means a lot more than "cease to exist as a standalone product" in fact, they are opposite meanings. The highlighting emphasises the negative...I think this is a great announcement that sends a confused message. Hey they are adopting Linux more strongly, thats good right? They are not dropping NetWare, thats good for current NetWare users.
The glass is half full...
-- Sig meltdown immine...
A brave move, but a welcomed one at that. It's going to be interesting next 12 months to see if Novell has made the right move.
Netware is a solid platform and proven its stability, where Windows has failed. On the other hand Novells 1st generation software hasn't always been the best.
Will the Netware zealots adopt the linux based services quick enough for Novell to cover its investment? Lets hope....Time will tell.
Area51 - We are watching...
Netware has had its heyday. When customers found out they needed TCP/IP to internetwork, the days of a strictly local area network, as NetWare were numbered.
With their purchases of Ximian and SuSE last year, it was pretty clear that Novell managment saw the need to take their company in a new direction. Novell chooses to embrace the new world. SCO tries to fight against it.
From the article:
But if Microsoft open-sourced Windows, which Messman said he did not think would happen as this was a huge cash cow for the Redmond, Wash., software company, Novell would help its customers use open-source Windows if this happened and they wanted it, he added.
If DeBeers starts giving away diamonds for free, we'll be sure to make sure our clients get some. In the event that a magic fairy inserts $50 billion into our bank account, we'll share that with our clients.
Sure. Whatever.
Jedidiah.
Craft Beer Programming T-shirts
with all the corporate support for OSS related projects, it is becoming a real contender on the server side against Microsoft. I wonder how much this eats into Microsoft's server sales they were counting on. Looks like all the "unix conversions" MS was counting on to continue their grow isn't going to happen. In fact looks they're gonna get hurt. The only real cash cow left for MS will be windows and office. Feel like the writing is on the way for the gradual and slow shift from world leader to just another player. MS won't die, but it will become less important as time goes on.
...other that moving applications from NLM to ELF, I don't see any giant advantages to this on the server end. We already have apache, tomcat, ssh, etc, etc for Netware.
And on the desktop, I have memories of Novell trying to take on MS once before and failing horribly. I'm skeptical. I can't see how any "synergy" with Linux will make Netware a better product than it already is--aside from the PR buzz it's getting and the goodwill from the Linux community.
iFolder is a major gift to the Linux community and is an excellent sign to me that Novell is committed to Open Source Model not just the "we're on the Linux boat" fad. Until you've used iFolder and seen your files move from desktop to desktop with little to no effort on your part, you just can't understand. It's seamless, it's secure and it's reliable. I encourage all of you to give it a try! Thanks for a great product and thanks for believing in the OSS community Novell!
If you were to put a sniffer on my NetWare 5 network, you would see the File and Print services (and NCP services) are TCP/IP packets. The only thing that forces me to run IPX are the stupid JetDirect cards. But I digress.
Currently, the NetWare OS is a set of NLMs (NetWare Loadable Modules). This is what they talk about when they say the NetWare 'kernel'. I'm pretty sure it is C code and some Assembler.
The plan is that when you install NetWare 7, you will get your choice of 'kernels' - either the old NLM based one, or the new Linux 2.6 based one.
And, since all the NetWare services will be / can be running on Linux - those services can be integrated into a Linux distibution.
The most valuable Novell service is its eDirectory. They also have an application distribution product, ZENWorks; and of course their email system, GroupWise; a whole set of products that use the Directory for tailored access (BorderManager firewall, a web-portal product, biometric security, single-sign-on password management, iFolder file synchronization, and more).
So the 'integration' is perhaps better described as porting what they do to both platforms. Your choice of kernel - but you will still be running eDirectory and other Novell services.
Did I explain that well enough?
"The most sensible request of government we make is not, "Do something!" But "Quit it!"
Novell has got a great position.
1) They got tried and tested file, print, directory, and groupware services (including mail, calendar and secure IM services) - that's probably 50% of the windows server market right there
2) They got good security and infrastructure management offerings. Microsoft can't even compete in this category.
3) They got an enterprise class J2EE / Web Services platform from their SilverStream acquisition. (that's the other 50% of the windows market)
4) They have their own linux distro now from SUSE
5) They have a Linux on the desktop offering from Ximian
6) They have a world class distribution, partners program and support organization with over a decade of experience.
7) They've got a good core system integration group from CTP
8) And they are trying to replicate the success of the Certified Netware Enginneer with the new Certified Linux Engineer program. (MSCE was a complete rip off of the NE program)
Only one problem, they have managed to screw up every acquisition they did in the 90's.
Please Novell, don't screw this one up. We're counting on you.
Yeah, I work in a Novell shop and really hesitated to put in the hours to get a CNE. I had already let me MSCE expire. I just cringed every time I realized that the tests were both a cash cow for the OS companies and a tool for their marketing department. I ended up getting an OS agnostic CISSP and specialized in the security side of things.
Now it looks like my years of studying and using Linux are going to put me ahead of my coworkers who trudged down the CNE path.
It's good to have a life choice pay off once in a while!
Bah!
Whats not to like about that? Why do I need Linux?
The future. The Netware kernel is aging, and cost of continuing hardware support is high. By using Linux, Novell gets a wider range of hardware support largely for free. They also get to capitalize on other open source software, like Samba, rather than implementing thier own CIFS layer.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it, by any means! However, in 5-10 years when you outgrow your current setup, you'll be happy that Novell switched to the Linux kernel for Netware. They can now focus on innovating more in the userland stuff, and take comfort in the fact that almost all new hardware they'd want to use will be supported by the community.
Lex orandi, lex credendi.