* Details on the promotion for Novell’s Linux Technical Resource Kit
Last week in my Wired Windows column I took Novell to task over a promotion, the Novell Linux Technical Resource Kit. This was a package of goodies intended to showcase Novell’s new Linux offerings.
It included:
* SuSE Linux Standard Server 8.0 (ISO installation images).
* SuSE Linux 9.1 Professional (bootable installation DVD).
* Ximian Desktop 2.0 Evaluation (ISO image).
* Ximian Red Carpet 2.0.2 Evaluation (ISO image).
* Novell Linux Services 1.0 (ISO image and NLS companion CD).
* Novell GroupWise for Linux 6.5.1 – Server, Client and Messenger (ISO images).
I ranted on about how the shipment of the goodies package had been delayed more than once while few, if any, folks had actually received it. The column was published, as I said, last week.
Then I heard from the people who had the package. Boy, did I ever hear from them.
I also mentioned, in passing, how poorly promoted the offering had been. But it turns out the marketing was focused only on Linux user groups. No one at Novell thought that this target group would overlap with traditional NetWare users. Nor did they realize that the Linux community would ask their NetWare-using brethren about the company and its offers.
Novell originally intended to ship out 25,000 packages. But it actually shipped 75,000 and then closed down the Web site used for ordering.
Some correspondents took me to task for even hinting that people might think the offer was a scam to collect contact information in order to spam people. Novell has never been party to a scam but they have sailed very close to marketing spam on occasion. Still, people have gotten the package they ordered, so everything appears to be on the up and up.
In the biggest surprise, Novell re-opened the order site for the package (https://www.novell.com/community/linux/order.php) for a limited time – head there right now if you want one. After all, it seems to me that you – loyal NetWare users – need this introduction to Linux and Novell’s services for Linux a whole lot more than the people already familiar with Red Hat, Debian, OpenLinux and the like.
