Diary of a Network Geek

SCO is at it again!

According to this article on Computer Business Review, SCO is going after Linux end users. The article only mentions servers, so I assume they’re going after corporate end users, but still, the insanity is the same.
First of all, these bottom-feeders haven’t even proven their case in a court of law, much less the court of public opinion.
Second, they have no case!
Third, they’re violating copyrights that belongs to Novell.
Fourth, I’m fairly sure that they’re breaking the law by charging people for something they haven’t proved they own.

Man, I’ll sure be glad when this gets settled and SCO goes away.

Can it be true?

Well, according to this story on CNet News, Novell is seriously thinking about moving to an all Linux platform. Is this good, bad, or does it make any difference at all?
I don’t know, but I know it’s interesting. Not too long ago, Novell said they’d “support” Linux. Then, last week, they bought Ximian. Now, this news. I don’t know what it means, but it sure is interesting.
But, this story on eWeek would seem to indicate differently. Two conflicting stories about where Novell is going with Linux. Well, at least they’re in the news!!
But, again, it makes me really, really glad that I’ve been focusing on my Linux skills lately!

Novell buys Ximian!

There were two press releases yesterday about this. One on Yahoo!News and one on Novell’s Website. Now, you may ask, why is this cool? Because, along with Novell’s other products, this could produce a Microsoft free environment. Okay, just savor that thought for a moment. “Microsoft free”. Aaah…
It’ll be interesting to see how that effects Novell’s stock price.

Also in the news, this time on Australia IT, is a story about how RedHat is sueing SCO. It looks like a preemptive strike, but who knows what it really all means. SCO has really muddied the waters around Linux and, it seems to me, is cutting of their nose to spite their face. Well, only time will tell how this one will play out!

A great news week for Novell and Linux. (Man, I got to get my CNE updated!) Keep those peepers peeled for more info!

Man, these guys are like a rabid dog!

They haven’t won their case against, well, anyone, regarding their allegedly copyrighted code being in Linux, but now they’re trying to sell licenses for it! When I read this article on Wired News, I couldn’t believe the chutzpah these guys were displaying. I doubt too many people will bite on this, though. At least, they’ll stall until the other litigation is worked out. Frankly, I think this is a giant crock of you-know-what. It’s just another kind of spammer-esque, bottom-feeding, predatory business practice that someone with real ethics wouldn’t engage in at all. Based on things that Novell has said, not to mention hordes of other Linux geeks, SCO hasn’t a leg to stand on regarding their copyright claims, but still they pull a stunt like this! What scumbags!
So, go out and install Linux in protest!! Even if you don’t run it for anything, just install it to thumb your nose at the money-grubbing blood-suckers.

Oh, and I hope the Novell ad still shows up on this article when you get there. The irony was just delicious!

I get hits from the craziest searches.

I was looking at my logs over the weekend and saw really strange stuff in there. For instance, I got a bunch of hits from Google on “Strom Thurman”. I guess, because I wrote a little piece about his passing in my blog. But, then, too, I’ve gotten hits from some nut-job who was looking for “cannibal erotica pictures”, who apparently got to me via a misspelling in my blog entry “Corporate Canibalism”. In fact, out of amusement, I haven’t changed the title. I guess I should mention Novell and networking in my blog more often. Maybe I should talk about my resume and higher salaries, too.
So, hey, if any of you recruiters out there find my site and resume, I’m always up for a higher-paying Novell administration gig. Did I mention I have supervisory experience?

Okay, here it comes!

For some time now, Novell has been talking about releasing their Nterprise tools on a Linux kernel instead of their standard Netware kernel. Well, according to this press release, they’ve done it! You can get more information about Novell’s Linux offerings here.

I really can’t say enough about how exciting this is. I mean, to have such a huge company with such a great networking reputation backing Linux is just too cool. And, the news media is really talking it up. Slashdot.org had all kinds of stuff about Novell’s move to include Linux in their stable of products. Also, I’m pretty stoked because I just recently got my Linux+ certification and, of course, I love Novell products. Maybe, just maybe, I can avoid certifying on Microsoft products and instead ease into a Linux/Unix SysAdmin gig, with Novell on the side. Oh, man, that would be so cool! Ah, well, I guy can dream!

Well, I’m working on it!

So, I finished the Exam Cram 2 Novell Netware 5.x to 6 Upgrade book and I’m getting ready to study my but off. That usually means banging away at the Self Test Software pre-test until I score way up in the 90% and above range. That almost always assures me of a passing grade the first time out. And, when money is tight, that really counts. In any case, this method has worked for me in the past, so I’m pretty sure it will work for me again.

Oh, boy, this looks like it’s going to get ugly.

At least, I sure hope so! Let’s get Novell’s name in the media as much as possible, eh? Let them talk about their product and how they plan to use Linux as much as they can stand. Let’s keep the love alive.
Really, the latest volley is that SCO is going to sue Novell. And, so far, that seems okay with Novell. Oh, and SCO has finally agreed to specify what code is in question so experts can look at it.
Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, has suggested Chris DiBona of Slashdot.org and The Screen Savers fame, as a third-party expert to evaluate the code. You can see what he has to say about it on his blog.

Ok, so it’s a thrid-party product that’s currently not supported, but still…

It exists! Really, truly, I have seen it. There is such an animal.
The GTK Client for Netware has its very own website. A word of warning, though, don’t bother to try and download it from the link at the bottom of the page. Instead, go to the “Downloads” section and get it from there.
With Novell’s new strategy of Linux support, I wonder how long it will be before they have their own client? I wonder why they don’t just grab this guy’s Novell client and “brand” it for themselves? Anyway, I thought it was cool.

… And thank you very much Novell!

Okay, so it’s not shock to anyone reading this that I’m a giant Novell bigot, right? So, when Novell comes down on the side of Linux, should you be suprised that I’m gonna’ talk it up? I didn’t think so…

Of course, if you’re a Linux lover, you’ve already been following the outrageous claims that SCO has made regarding “their” code that was released via GPL into Linux. Guess what? Turns out that it was never their code at all. Novell owns the code in question and they’re all for it being in the Open Source community. In fact, some time ago, I noted that Novell is going to release their excellent OS, Netware, on a Linux kernel in addition to the current Netware kernel. So, these folks are really going after the Open Source market. And, based on what I read on Slashdot, they’re being pretty well recieved.

Hey, maybe I won’t have to sell out to the Evil Empire of Microsoft after all!