Novell seeks outside help with Linux
By Stephen Shankland
News.com
http://news.com.com/Novell+seeks+outside+help+with+Linux/2100-7344_3-5816079.html
Story last modified Tue Aug 02 18:11:00 PDT 2005
Novell plans to begin opening up development of one of its Linux products
to outside programmers in a project called OpenSuse, a strategy similar to
that taken by rival Red Hat, Novell is expected to announce next week.
Novell is launching the project in an attempt to attract more outside
developers, new users and, ultimately, market share, said Greg
Mancusi-Ungaro, director of marketing for Linux and open source. Novell is
the No. 2 seller of Linux after Red Hat.
Novell and Red Hat each have two versions of Linux: a slow-changing,
higher-priced product intended for conservative customers and a
fast-changing version for enthusiasts and developers. For Red Hat, the
products are Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora, respectively, and for
Novell, they are Suse Linux Enterprise Server and Suse Linux Professional.
Novell is paring down this latter product's name to Suse Linux and plans to
invite outsiders to help build it, Mancusi-Ungaro said.
In the past, "We've made (Suse Linux) not widely available--just retail
stores or a packaged download from an FTP. It's not the easiest way to gain
a large user community," he said. The company is trying to turn that around
through the invitation for outside involvement and an effort to distribute
more copies of the software, a push called the lizard blizzard, a reference
to the company's Geeko mascot.
Novell isn't the only one trying a more open approach. Sun Microsystems has
begun opening its Solaris source code in an effort to regain the relevance
the Unix version has lost to Linux. Attracting users is key for Novell:
Wall Street analysts see Novell's Linux effort as a key factor in the
company's financial health as revenue from its older NetWare operating
system declines.
But creating a collaboration with the broad community of open-source
programmers is a difficult task. Red Hat has tried for more than two years
to get its Fedora project fully off the ground, most recently taking the
step of creating the Fedora Foundation to try to give the project more
independence.
The first stage of Novell's effort will begin next week with the first
public beta test release, Mancusi-Ungaro said. Next, Novell will accept bug
fixes and suggestions from outsiders, and, eventually, more active
development. By the spring of 2006, Novell will make the product's
underlying source code available and will provide publicly accessible
servers that can be used to build the software, he said.
"We're trying to make it easier for application developers to come to Suse,
create forks (variations on Novell's product), create packages and build
the software," Mancusi-Ungaro said.
Along with the greater openness will come an effort to spread the software
as widely as possible--an effort Novell hopes will distinguish Suse Linux
from Fedora.
Where Fedora is available chiefly by downloading multiple large CD images,
Novell plans to distribute Suse Linux CDs in magazines, at trade shows and
meetings, and possibly by sending them to those who just ask.
"We will give away thousands at user group events," he said.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
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