Novell has hired Joe "Zonker" Brockmeier to be community manager of its OpenSuse Linux project, the company said Monday.
OpenSuse is a free Linux version Novell uses to test out new features it puts into its supported product,
On his blog, Brockmeier said he wants to use his position to attract Windows users to Linux. "I'm...going to be focusing my attention on getting the word out about OpenSuse to more potential users, and trying to bring in more new users to OpenSuse Linux. And by 'new users,' I don't mean people switching from another Linux distro--if someone is using another distro and is happy with Linux, that's great. I want to reach the masses of Windows users who are looking for a better computing platform, and find ways to address their needs with Linux."
Brockmeier also said he wants to emulate what Max Spevack has done in helping to make Red Hat's Fedora project more independent from Red Hat.
(Spevack has just left his role as Fedora project leader, with Paul Frields taking over in January.)
Novell has endowed its OpenSuse Build Service with the ability to produce software for its main rival, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and a clone called CentOS, the company said Thursday.
The build system was originally established so programmers could make sure their software works on new versions of Novell's Suse Linux products. The build system already worked with two other Linux distributions, Debian and Ubuntu.
Why the largesse from Novell?
My guess is that the company hopes to tow more open-source developers into its orbit, but there are altruistic motives as well: "By adding support to build packages for CentOS and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the OpenSuse Build Service makes it even easier to build packages across multiple Linux distributions, thus further enabling innovative ideas to spread quickly throughout the free and open source software community," said Michael Loeffler, Novell's OpenSuse product manager, in a statement.
Novell released OpenSuse 10.3 Thursday, its latest free version of the open-source operating system.
Fancy 3D effects include windows that flame out when closed.
(Credit: Novell)For those who need a refresher, OpenSuse is the faster-moving but mostly unsupported version of Linux from Novell and various outside contributors. It competes most directly with Linux versions such as Canonical's Ubuntu and Red Hat's Fedora. Novell has tried for years to pit it against Windows as well, even as it cooperates with Microsoft in a legally thorny partnership. Novell's supported product, Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server, is sold in the form of an annual support subscription.
Like most versions of Linux, OpenSuse has a choice of graphical interfaces. Version 10.3 includes new versions of the two most widely used, GNOME 2.20 and KDE 3.5.7, along with some elements of the forthcoming KDE 4.
Novell has been an eager adopter of fancy interface graphics, and 10.3 includes the Compiz and Compiz Fusion infrastructure for 3D effects such as desktop workspaces that map to the faces of a cube, or slightly blurred background windows, or windows that burst into flames upon closing. For those who want to head the other direction, version 4.4.1 of the minimalist graphics interface XFCE is an option.
You can either download OpenSuse for free or buy a $60 two-DVD set with a manual 90 days of installation help.
There are some notable new features, according to Novell and OpenSuse News:
• Version 2.6.22 of the Linux kernel.
• Xen 3.1 and VirtualBox 1.5 virtualization software, handy for running Windows software but a complicated technology. Also included is virtual machine configuration support in the Yast management tool and an experimental version of the KVM virtualization software.
• A one-click install option to more easily add OpenSuse packages stored online.
• A new set of installation discs. Instead of coming on 5 CDs, OpenSuse comes on just one--one for KDE and a different for GNOME--with extras downloadable. Alternatively, the whole kit and caboodle is on a DVD.
• Easier installation support for proprietary audio and video "codecs" needed to decode files. When the Amarok or Banshee media players encounter an MP3 file for the first time, a dialog box will appear presenting the option to download the MP3 codec.
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