<Regarding the LAN article on Novell>
Craig,
Thank you very much. Your pointer goes in my "top 5 posts" to this thread (that is saying something since we are approaching 10,000 posts here, and I've read every one).
I'm sure most have, but I urge everyone to go to this article. Especially for this -
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Bob Metcalfe, 3Com founder and freelance pundit, has made the point that the value of a network increases with the square of the number of users. A similar rule probably applies to network directories. If this conjecture is true, then there is a point of critical mass where NDS could become essential to a wide audience of network users, whereupon its adoption would grow explosively.
and
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One issue surrounding a future environment that is made up of distributed components is how clients will find them. Object request brokers can facilitate communications between objects, and the Internet can provide raw connectivity. However, in most situations, it probably won't be acceptable to fire up a search engine to find application components. A directory of software components just might be essential, especially if there is a pervasive cross-platform directory already in place that could be extended to keep track of software objects.
and
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Another front where NDS has made headway is with international telephone companies. Despite rumors that AT&T would kill Novell Connect Services, this offering has been incorporated into AT&T's WorldNet Intranet Connect Service and is reportedly thriving. Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, the second-largest phone company on Earth, has begun offering similar networking services managed by NDS. And Deutsche Telekom, the third-largest phone company, has begun trials of its similar Intralink Service. The fact that these companies are also some of the world's largest Internet service providers is no coincidence.
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A few thousand posts ago, I mentioned the above as what I thought the real prize for Novell was. I still think this. We can buy now at almost raw asset value, with the chance to dominate the converged telecom/info WAN, and participate in THAT revenue stream.
I am way too heavy in this issue, but the above is why I am sticking it out. I see a cheap chance at revenue from a source that would instantly make the workgroup/SOHO segment look like a poor second prize.
jww |
