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

To: zwolff who wrote (34531)	10/31/2000 6:44:22 PM
From: kilo_watt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 42771

Simply making NDS open-source doesn't even begin to solve the developer problem. It's not like there's a ton of developers just wishing NDS were openly available. That's the heart of the matter. Exposing the code doesn't solve the problem: there's just no upside. How does the recent RHAT deal indicate that they are moving in the direction of open source? RHAT Linux isn't open source, is it? Regarding your second disagreement: I simply do not understand-- based on so many reasons-- why this is a good thing. Professional services is a tough business. Your assets are costly, they are difficult to manage, they are limited in scope, and they are constantly being tempted away. Particularly at Novell where no one has any options above water. Further, services margins are low, relative to software. Services doesn't scale. And services are ALWAYS a commodity, which is kind of a radical statement that you will probably disagree with. Bottom line, as an R+D and engineering company, Novell needs to concentrate on monetizing its development and intellectual asset base. By-the-hour consulting is not the way to do that. Sure, services need to be there to support the sale, but service in and of themselves are not going to save the company, particularly as they are driven by the software. See, it's that installed-base mindset again.