eDirectory to Linux? Yeah. Whatever.
Now, there's no doubt about it - Novell hasn't gotten a fair shake from the industry in a really long time. I'll never forget the presentation in which Gartner analyst Neil McDonald asked then CEO Eric Schmidt to position eDirectory against the 'safe choice' - Microsoft's Active Directory. Schmidt happily took advantage of the question to point out that the 'safe choice' wasn't yet shipping. The gales of laughter from the assembled crowd were about all the support he got, since remarkably few people then went out to buy the stuff.

Despite that, it's hard to work up enthusiasm - again - for Novell's latest strategy, calling for support of Web Services (they're very, very late), and this plank which looks to bundle eDirectory with Linux. Misery loves company maybe...this won't do anything to solve Novell's continuing problem, lack of developer support. It will expose the company's fine technology to those who really care about such things - but I'm not sure the Linux crowd is a persuasive force in getting applications on the platform.

Novell in talks to bundle eDirectory on Linux servers. Brainshare - we weren't there [The Register] 

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Is The Cup Half Full, Or Half Empty?
Not many surprises here - optimistic VC see web services as the focus of IT efforts for the next couple of decades, pessimistic analyst thinks it could be an important technology. Split the difference and you'll have the truth.

Venture Capitalist, Industry Analyst Debate Web Services. Analyst more cautious of IT adoption, while venture capitalist expects a major shift in computing. [TechWeb] 

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