Novell sets sights on 'complete Linux desktop'
In the 1990s, Microsoft defeated Novell in the market for server operating systems. Now Novell is taking the battle back to Redmond, Wash., launching an attack on Microsoft's desktop stronghold.
"We're focusing on building a complete Linux desktop as an alternative to what you've been using," Novell Vice Chairman Chris Stone told Novell loyalists at the company's BrainShare conference here. "We believe that in the next 12 months, we will see the widespread adoption of Linux on the desktop."
The desktop Linux push will include software from SuSE Linux, the No. 2 Linux seller that Novell acquired in January for $210 million, and Ximian, the Linux desktop specialist that Novell acquired in August.
The acquisitions marked a bold departure for the Waltham, Mass.-based company, which has struggled for years to wean itself from its own NetWare operating system despite declining use and revenue. At the same time, Novell, a prior owner of the Unix operating system originally developed by AT&T, is on the front lines countering the SCO Group's legal attack on Linux, arguing that Novell still owns Unix copyrights.
Novell is using the Linux change to restore itself for its developers, sales partners and customers.
