Novell says Linux ready for corporate desktop

Novell is making the claim that Linux as a desktop OS is now mature enough for the requirements of power users such as senior executives and engineers, and is urging enterprises to adopt the OS on their workstations. Novell, who launched their SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 in July, claim that the OS offers integrated desktop search technology, improved graphics and design, and can seamlessly integrate with Microsoft's Active Directory. It is therefore, they claim, an ideal OS to replace such legacy operating systems as Windows 98, ME or IBM's OS2.

"There is a basic level called 'good enough'. You need to be good enough to be even evaluated. In my view we were not there with Linux previously. We are there with Linux today," Novell's chief technology officer Jeffrey Jaffe told vnunet.com in an interview at LinuxWorld in San Francisco.
Up until now, commercial desktop Linux deployments have mostly been limited to such applications as cash registers or transactional workstations, which are used for a single task. But Novell now feels that their Linux offerings are ideal for power users who perform such tasks as word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, email and web browsing. For consumers, however, Novell feels that Linux still has some way to go; their multimedia requirements go beyond what Linux can offer today.