OStatic

I'm sure there's got to be something to the observation that many ideas that are conceived in purity -- capitalism, socialism, open source, closed source, democracy, and even the massive, single platform server farm that sits in a building with specialized cooling and dedicated power and telecommunications lines -- only start to take a general, strong, enduring grip, one with impact, when there's a certain element of an opposing (or at least fundamentally different) approach introduced somewhere in the mix. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's more often a positive step, where the original good idea strikes out into the world and makes its stand.

Maybe these hybridizations are intentional, or maybe they just sort of happen over time -- in the case of network configurations and licensing of software running thereon, it's just as likely to be one or the other (or both) that leads to a mixed network. Taking an unscientific (and quick) look back at Canonical's recent survey on the Ubuntu Server market, the questions posed on platforms used in businesses invariably returned a sum greater than 100%, because so many organizations use multiple server (never mind desktop) environments. In this Ubuntu-specific and somewhat informal survey, it was also apparent that even if Active Directory use wasn't the leading directory service among the respondents, it was one of the more popular services.

This is in no small part why Likewise's software, geared to simplify managing and securing mixed networks using Active Directory services, is now being offered to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 users. The Enterprise version of Likewise's software will be integrated with the SUSE Desktop and available through SUSE 11 repositories.

As the story broke yesterday that Novell and Intel were joining forces to encourage OEMs and ODMs to use the Linux-based Moblin platform on netbooks and small devices, a number of comments -- and questions -- began swirling in the open source world.

InfoWorld wonders if the collaboration efforts aren't a bad omen for Novell's SUSE Linux, while CNet's Matt Asay thinks the move could be a positive one for Moblin and Novell, and one that could ultimately give Google's Android a real fight.

When did you use Linux for the first time? The question was posed at the Linux Collaboration Summit earlier this month, and has prompted many Linux users to take a trip down memory lane.

I'm not sure if the admission that I remember my first Linux installation much more clearly than any date with my first boyfriend or my first date with my husband is a really wise thing to put in writing. I will freely admit it wasn't quite as anxiety-inducing as a date, and the long-term relationship that sprang from it taught me quite a bit about myself, how I learn, and how to passionately load kernel modules at boot.

In October, MSI's Director of US Sales delivered an interesting statistic that Linux netbooks were returned four times more often than Windows versions. It didn't seem, perhaps, an unreasonable number, but it was a bit ambiguous what data it was pulled from. I had speculated it was perhaps a market-wide number, pulled from other netbook manufacturers (and incorporating MSI's sales data on Linux netbooks internationally, as a Linux version of the Wind has not yet been released in the US).

Apparently that wasn't the case. I just came across a Laptop Magazine interview from late last month with ASUS CEO Jerry Shen. Shen says four million EeePC netbooks have been sold this year, with models offering pre-installed Windows versions rolling out in the later quarters. He says ASUS has found the return rates for the Linux and Windows models are similar. He also said that Linux has been quite popular in the European market.