09.07.07
Novell Has an Image Problem
Evidently, bloggers agree that Novell has public relations issues. Without a doubt, the deal with Microsoft did its image no good. Here is the opinion of a former Novell employee, Matt Asay (C|Net blogs):
If Novell’s Linux business continues to grow, and it does this without the crutch of Microsoft, people will forgive and forget…slowly. In the meantime, Novell can’t pretend that it’s loved by the open-source community. The Microsoft deal did far too much damage to its credibility to expect that.
Here is an opinion that’s even harsher. It comes from ZDNet blogs.
My recent Novell post got some private push-back from a Novell spokesman who insisted that I was being harsh.
[...]
I suspect many marketers, public relations experts and even executives entering open source for the first time don’t understand this point. They want to be judged on what they say today, and only today.
Sorry, folks. New rule. Open source doesn’t forget.
The valid point of this blog post aside, once again, Novell is going through the trouble of giving bloggers some trouble. I saw them pulling Matt Asay’s arm and Dana’s arm before. They sort of did this here, but not in a polite way.
Is it unacceptable to criticise the company whose move you disagree with? A company that sold out hundreds of thousands of developers who worked for well over a decade? Shades of SCO and Microsoft. Leave bloggers alone, Novell. Let them speak. Those who behave needn’t censor or scare their opposition.
Highlight: Novell was the first to acknowledge that Microsoft FUD tactics had substance. Novell then used anti-Linux FUD to market itself. 
Highlight: Xandros let Microsoft make patent claims and brag about (paid-for) OOXML support. 
Highlight: Linspire's CEO not only fell into Microsoft arms, but he also assisted the company's attack on GNU/Linux. 
Highlight: Microsoft craves pseudo (proprietary) standards and gets its way using proxies and influence which it buys. 
Highlight: The invasion into the open source world is intended to leave Linux companies neglected, due to financial incentives from Microsoft. 
Analysis: Xen, an open source hypervisor, possibly fell victim to Microsoft's aggressive (and stealthy) acquisition-by-proxy strategy.
Stephen said,
September 7, 2007 at 4:48 am
The “arm pulling” you cite by Miguel is really down to your baseless assumptions on his role at Novell rather than on any hard facts. It does sometimes smack of tabloid sensationalism (IMHO). I think one commenter alluded to this in the post you’ve linked to above.
I’m no lawyer, and I don’t think you are either, but I do know that you have the right to say what you feel on this blog, but there’s a way to say things without opening yourself and your blog to potential difficulties. Given that you have a growing readership (what is it by the way?), your responsibility for accuracy and your exposure for inaccuracies becomes every more heightened.
Roy Schestowitz said,
September 7, 2007 at 7:26 am
Stephen, based on your comments I have been assuming that you have some ties with Novell (customer/partner/employment, present or past ), but that is fine. My issue with Miguel was a vague claim of slander that was not specific at all.
IANAL either, but as I said before, if corrections are suggested, I fix everything that’s required. I have always done this in the past. If people do not speak out, how will I know what to fix?
About readership, in the past week we delivered about 5,000 pages per day (to non-bots/search engines). The site is 10 months old, and growing.
Paul said,
September 7, 2007 at 8:53 am
Hi Stephen
Are you suggesting that Novell will turn towards litigation like their big brother to overcome general dissatisfaction with their approach?
Paul