Novell has found a creative way to put Netbooks and SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 in the hands of IT managers and channel partners — even with Microsoft sitting in the same room. Here’s the scoop from The VAR Guy.
After canceling its annual BrainShare event, Novell now plans to hit the road with Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Microsoft. A “data center evolution” tour kicks off March 24 and will visit dozens of cities — reacing hundreds of IT managers and channel partners — across the globe.
Now, for the interesting twist: Hewlett-Packard and Novell will give away one HP Mini-Note 2140 at each tour stop. And yes, the Netbook systems are preinstalled with SUSE Linux Enterprise 11 rather than Windows.
Put Down the iPod
Smart move, Novell. Many high-tech companies offer Apple iPods and other consumer device giveaways to boost event registration and attendance. But those efforts involve products that had nothing to do with the event at hand.
Thanks to Linux Netbooks, Novell will reinforce its own brand during the upcoming road show. The VAR Guy suspects that few IT managers have seen SUSE Linux running on a Netbook, and even fewer have tried it. That’s about to change — in a small but noteworthy way.
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Tags: HP Mini-Note 2140 | Linux Netbooks | Novell BrainShare | Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise 11
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Had not heard HP offers SUSE Linux netbooks. So already Novell has one business lead from this offer.
They have for awhile. I have one and really like it.
SLE 11 does not exist.. Only 2yrs old SLE 10 SP2 and it’s painfully slow on that HP mininote hot toaster..
Hey 6205 SLE 11 does exist it’s at RC4 stage right now.
Read between the lines, folks. If SLE 11 doesn’t exist right now… and the events start in late March/April… do you think some news might be coming???
I just hope the OS is better (way better) fine tuned for the device than it was for the MSI Winds. There was too many unfinished stuff to make it a really good experience, even for regular Linux users
H-P has already got its own variant of GNU/Linux for these machines/form factor and it’s based on Ubuntu (Debian). Wouldn’t SLE be ‘heavy’?
How is Novell still distributing Linux after signing a cross-licensing agreement with Microsoft? Doesn’t the GPL prohibit one from distributing Linux if one signs a cross-licensing agreement?
Novell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel and Microsoft go out on the road and give out the cheapest computer out there as a marketing gimmick. How bold.
I dont worry about Novell distributing as much as them infecting Gnome through their heavy use of mono which is now an integral part of applications like Evolution. All of Novell’s excemptions dont apply to other other developers/distros so in a way, when Microsoft comes bearing down on the stolen IP in Mono, and they will, it wont be because of the code Novell developers will have contributed it but the ones who are not covered by the patent.
Steve: Novell offers a nice little parting prize to a random conference attendee — and you’re criticizing the move?
Roy: HP markets their consumer and business lines differently. Their business line is focused on enterprise linux distributions (meaning those who invest in development, certifications, support, have 7-yr shelf live, etc.). SLED has been and is currently offered on a number of units (some preload, some through services), including the 2133 and this newer 2140 (2133 was VIA-based, 2140 is Atom-based). HP’s consumer line has Ubuntu/Debian-based offerings.
As an aside, as someone used both the 2133 and the 2140, SLE isn’t really heavy…it can be streamlined like any distro…however, as it’s a business type offering (and based on an enterprise linux distro), it’s goals are different than that of a consumer offering. SLE11 (which was just recently released) is based on the latest code, so it is a bit quicker on hardware such as this than previous releases.
But all this being said, I think it’s good to see vendors such as HP embracing Linux as a preload and I’m very happy to see more and more offerings such as this (on the business side), as well as those on the consumer end of things as well. Down with Windows being the only offering! Long live Linux!
Very interesting alternative…but WTF is the netbook with SLED only offered in the US, and not in Germany?
DocB: The VAR Guy will be sure to ask Novell your question. But he won’t drop the F bomb while doing so.
have spent many hours trying to sort out an hp 2133 with sled 10 on it
an interesting experience as this has been sold for home use hp should be shot no wonder they give them away for free,if you want to discourage any mainstream users from purchasing your products or from using linux this is the device to do it.Are hp working with microsoft trying to show people how bad linux can be.Remember most people just want to be able to write a few documents surf the net.If they have to insall programs they want them to install automatically or at most click an install button.It is maybe ok for sad people with time (like me)to play about with settings and command lines but most people dont care and just want it to run or conect to other devices when it is asked to.As a device sold to the general public they dont care wheather it is linux windows or mac but if it does not work easily or reliably they will remember what it was and probably will not use or bye that product again.For HP and novell to release this product to the public is a disgrace i hope to god they are not responsable for any mission critical software or hardware.