Novell as Open Source Hero?

ccnull writes "Who's the #2 Linux vendor in the world? Would you believe Novell? Infoworld takes a look at this long-struggling giant and how it has (and hasn't) reinvented itself as an open source company in the face of utterly losing the LAN market to Microsoft." The piece argues: "But even though it seems to be holding all the right cards, Novell faces tough odds. In recent years, tough competition from Microsoft and dwindling support from third-party developers have caused Novell's once-loyal base to look elsewhere for infrastructure needs. Unless it can win back the loyalty of the industry, Novell's new, Linux-centric message could fall on deaf ears."

Comments

Re:Novell - The silent giant

[mrchaotica]

You could rephrase that to say "people tend to support Windows because it's the most rational economic decision for them, while people who love Novell or Linux are irrational fanboys who use it because it might be the best at some point in the future"

It sucks, but it's true.

Signed,

Irrational Fanboy

Re:Not "winning back" loyalty, but maybe winning.

[OSgod]

The worrysome point here -- remember when Novell tried to break the mold and strike back at MSFT before? A billion dollar purchase of Word Perfect and grouping it with other apps to take on the desktop suite of the day (MS Office, how times have not changed)...

So what happened to all those satisfied Novell office suite users? They were dumped.

(Founding member disgruntled Word Perfect users anonymous)

#2 vendor, in who's books?

[Blitzenn]

I can't find anything what even remotely suggests that novell has surpassed other big vendors. Even Linux world is quoted as stating that Debian, Mandrakesoft, Red Hat, and SUSE are the top four vendors as of April 4th of this year. Here is that link Linux and Security: Forrester Report Flawed, Say Four Top Vendors. Perhaps you could provide a link to support your ridiculous claim that novell is that good at anything anymore?