Good night, and good luck

Editor's Note: We regret to let you know that starting in 2007, we will no longer be publishing the Novell NetWare Tips Newsletter. To reflect Novell's market direction, starting Jan. 3, you will begin receiving our Linux & Open Source newsletter, written by Network World Senior Editor Phil Hochmuth and published every Monday and Wednesday. Coverage of Novell and its products will continue at NetworkWorld.com. If you would like to update your newsletter subscription or sign up for others, such as the Unified Communications Newsletter or Dave Kearns' Identity Management newsletter, please go to the Subscription Services link below.

“And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I’ll say it clear,
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain.” – Frank Sinatra

We launched this newsletter early in March, 2000. At that time I wrote “In the coming weeks, we'll look at the many issues, features, problems and solutions that this venerable - yet still lively - network operating system has to offer.” We didn’t know how long it would last and now, 370 weeks later, the curtain is coming down.

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Editor's Note: We regret to let you know that starting in 2007, we will no longer be publishing the Novell NetWare Tips Newsletter. To reflect Novell's market direction, starting Jan. 3, you will begin receiving our Linux & Open Source newsletter, written by Network World Senior Editor Phil Hochmuth and published every Monday and Wednesday. Coverage of Novell and its products will continue at NetworkWorld.com. If you would like to update your newsletter subscription or sign up for others, such as the Unified Communications Newsletter or Dave Kearns' Identity Management newsletter, please go to the Subscription Services link below.

“And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I’ll say it clear,
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain.” – Frank Sinatra

We launched this newsletter early in March, 2000. At that time I wrote “In the coming weeks, we'll look at the many issues, features, problems and solutions that this venerable - yet still lively - network operating system has to offer.” We didn’t know how long it would last and now, 370 weeks later, the curtain is coming down.

I even told you at the time what my philosophy for the newsletter would be: “Too many people have been (and still are) writing off NetWare as a washed-up network operating system. You know that's not true, but convincing the powers that be isn't always easy. This newsletter will give you the ammunition you need to defend your network choice. Of course, even Novell makes a mistake from time to time (NetWare Lite, anybody? NetWare Naming Service?), and we'll point those out to you as well. So belt up, this promises to be a roller coaster ride, with a little bit of fun along the way.” At the time we really didn’t know that the one group of people who would need the most convincing about the viability of NetWare would be in the executive office in Waltham, Mass. Heck, Novell didn’t even have executive offices in Waltham at the time!

It has been an interesting roller coaster ride, though, one I’m happy we made. Still, even the roller coaster comes to a stop eventually and that’s what this edition is – the final stop, the “30” in newspaper parlance. It’s time to wrap up our efforts on behalf of NetWare users everywhere. Well, at least in this delivered-to-your-inbox fashion.

I’m convinced that there will be a NetWare server (probably version 3.11 or 3.12) running in some closet long after me and this newsletter have been forgotten. Heck, long after that server’s existence has been forgotten. It’ll still be doing its job, though, without any need for maintenance or supervision. That’s just how good NetWare is.

If you still have an interest in NetWare, then visit my NetWare page from time to time. I’ll try to keep it well stocked with pointers to interesting NetWare tidbits – news, opinions, tools and applications. Drop me a note whenever you come across something that would be useful to share with other NetWare fans and we’ll try to keep the old NOS running just as long as we can.