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Technology Stocks : Novell (NOVL) dirt cheap, good buy? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (28948)	11/14/1999 9:00:00 AM
From: p friend	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Comdex announcement? "Novell moves cautiously toward opening code base." How would this play out as part of Eric's speech during Comdex. Could Novell create big buzz out of this? Could they have obtained Eric Raymond's blessing at this point? "Novell would like to launch the initiative around Comdex in Las Vegas next month, according to sources. But those plans could be thwarted if key open-source advocates, including Eric Raymond and the Open Source Initiative, don't give their stamp of approval to Novell's public license, officials said." zdnet.com

To: Paul Fiondella who wrote (28948)	11/14/1999 12:23:00 PM
From: PJ Strifas	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 42771

Touting NDS capabilities is the ONLY way. Paul, you are correct - Novell needs a campaign setting the world straight on just what Active Directory can do and what NDS can do. This should be seen as more than just Novell making a business case for NDS or defending it's product. Actually this should be done by the industry press more than just Novell "marketing". Novell needs to plant this story idea into the editorial minds of more than just a handful of magazines and/or websites that cater to this industry. They NEED desparately to differentiate this product from the upcoming MSFT product which MSFT is probably not looking forward to. If Novell allows MSFT to win the battle of the "hearts and minds" of Corporate America... Anyway, I know Novell has the right information and I've even seen 2 presentations by Novell product developers/engineers which make the case. I can only hope they begin to make this information more public than a download of a PPT from their website. I'm very confident that the industry press will begin to compare/contrast Active Directory and NDS once Windows2000 ships. This will be an interesting "test" by far! This test should encompass several stages or phases and you would need to set an outline of objectives which both systems were to accomplish. First off, measuring the effectiveness and ease to implement those goals will be what sets these 2 products apart. The everyday things a network NEEDS to do to be considered successful (file & print sharing, network security and access, resource management and communications). Another comparision - one would need to look at the cost of implementation (not only licensing the software but hardware investments as well), administration overhead (factor the number of Admins necessary + training) and the overall benefits derived from the implementation (lower TCO? more productivity?). Another comparision - the technical analysis of just how each system works. For instance, analyzing the way each system manages changes in the Directory (timestamps verses versioning) and how each system synchronizes information across the network. Get into the inner workings of each system and show strengths and weaknesses. If a company is going to commit their mission critical systems to a directory, let them know just what they are getting into. Lastly, let's take a good look at currently available products which leverage a "Directory". Just a listing of what products you can purchase and what they do. There could be a comparision of these products as another cover story some months later :) Peter J Strifas