Novell Launches New Desktop

                                                Blessed are the Geeks, for they shall internet the earth

Novell Launches New Desktop
Douglas Chick

After many years of being in the server business, Novell finally saved up enough money to get into the desktop business as well. Novell, the once dominate network operating system, lost its led in the server operating system market in the early to mid-90’s to a less expensive and easier to use NT 4. (please, no hate mail) As what many saw as a last ditch effort to save themselves, Novell pulled off a brilliant move by implementing Linux as it’s primary operating system. Now they have carried it over to the office desktop arena. With the purchase os SUSE Linux sometime back, it isn’t any surprise that Novell would launch the SUSE desktop—some say that Novell was long overdue for their own desktop, perhaps too overdue.

     The new enterprise desktop has all the Linux Open Source companions expected with all Linux groups; OpenOffice, Mozilla’s Firefox Web Brower, and the Gaim Instant messaging client. In many opinions, Novell is the only real serious threat that Microsoft has, since its adaptation to Linux. Other Linux attempts haven’t had enough backing or credibility. Lindows, or Linspire, has never seemed to have the backing it needed by the Linux community for the office, and received much criticism for the name game it was playing with Microsoft’s Windows. Personally speaking, I never understood the criticism as I have found the product to be just what people need to switch from Windows to Linux. Other Linux desktop OS's seems to have been more a novelty for network managers than serious substitute for Windows in the workplace.

   Price, and over confidence is what lost Novell the number one spot in the past, perhaps time has humbled them enough regain some of their marketshare back.

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