Not sure I’d call it a traffic stopper, but this billboard certainly caught my eye on the way in to work this morning:
BIPARTISAN COMPUTING
Microsoft Windows Server … Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise
Guess these companies are serious about this romance. (By the way, Novell officially released openSUSE 10.2 this morning, too.)
The billboard is mounted off Rte. 9 eastbound in Southborough, Mass., not far from the highway’s intersection with Rte. 495, a bustling landscape of high-tech activity that rivals the more famous Rte.128 belt that surrounds Boston.
My first thought upon catching a glimpse of the billboard was a flashback to 10 years ago and my start here at Network World: Who could have imagined these two companies arm-in-arm at that time? Their rivalry was no-holds-barred … Novell and NetWare were actually formidable. … Open source was only for the geekiest of geeks. … And Microsoft was, well, Microsoft, albeit more interested at the time in crushing Netscape than Novell.
Next thought while driving by: I wonder if Massachusetts drivers passing this sign will even understand the meaning of the word bipartisan. After all, we’re as blue as blue states get and our lone Republican officeholder, Gov. Mitt Romney, will flee in January to pursue a presidential bid that is currently being dogged by press reports that Romney is not anti-homosexual enough for the national party base. Bipartisan? Look it up, my fellow Bay Staters.
And if you’re interested in reading a love letter between Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and his counterpart at Novell, Ron Hovsepian, the billboard tells you where to go.
