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Suse Linux Founder Exits Novell
csplinter writes write to tell us that SuSE Linux founder Hubert Mantel has resigned from Novell stating "Too late for me. I just decided to leave Suse/Novell. This is no longer the company I founded 13 years ago." Novell confirmed his resignation but had little else to say on the topic. From the article: "Mantel's departure also comes less than a week after Novell announced a major restructuring that would result in 600 layoffs. It's unclear if Mantel's resignation is related to the restructuring."
Rather interesting choice of words there at the end referring to the talent of the Ximian folks. Makes me wonder his resignation is tied to possible internal power struggles between KDE centric SUSE folks and GNOME centric Ximian developers. From last weeks announcement we know who won those battles, and it's possible his resignation is just part of the fallout.
Obviously with such a non-political statement from the founder there was some serious fights going on within Novell's walls. This guy isn't just a somebody within SuSE, so obviously this is a huge loss for Novell. Imagine being a SuSE developer within Novell, hearing rumors opon rumors about fights, arguments and disagreements with top management, then seeing the founder of the one thing that's kept Novell in the papers lately walk in obvious total disgust.
This isn't the last important, caring person who'll walk from Novell. With their current leadership, history of screwing things up, inability to fully integrate as an Open Source company, and their botched relationships with their key management, it truly spells death for the company as long as their current "leadership" stays in power. In the end, it won't matter when there's noone left to show up and unlock the door.