http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions/feature/16798.html

I think this is great to have the power of Novell behind this kind of movement. The more mainstream companies that get behind the Open Source movement the less other issues we might have to worry about.

FYI, there is a link on that page to add your requests to the growing list of programs to port to linux.

Thanks for the link, lleb.

I put in my 2c.
You should too, even if you think it´s useless. It´s one more nibble.

They would be very smart to do so on their own. I just picked up a copy of Apple's Macintosh OS/X for Unix Geeks and it was startling to what degree they have been able to "use what has already been done" instead of inventing it all over again. No wonder they were able to port to the x86 family so fast!

And that means, to me, that the Unix/Linux platforms are demonstrably more cost-efficient for development companies to write for: your market's bigger without more effort. There should be a big market opening up for tools that will help companies migrate their applications from Windows.

pass the word around guys and get more and more people to sign up for that petition. With the power of Novell behind this movement, maybe some of those companies will see the power of the OS community, not to mention the money they can make.

i would pay fair money for several programs that i use in OSx and MS Windows if they ran in Linux native.

They are not forcing anyone - they are simply centralizing an effort to encourage major software vendors to port to Linux. I already cast votes for Adobe CS2 and Quickbooks. I've also emailed Microsoft to vote my support for Microsoft Office (I'd buy at least one M$ Office license for Linux).

Right now, the only reason I still have a windows installation is for digital audio (VSTi, DXi, etc...) With Steinberg's Cubase and anything of Native Intruments coupled with stable drivers for high-end audio cards, I wouldn't need MS anymore !

Hey, let's be honest, folks ... if you develop "for Windows," you're very likely to become stuck there." And in the software business, where even a single experienced developer can cost as much as your attorney, that's a big deal.

Apple said that they were going to port their system to the x86 platform, and they proceeded to do just that. On time.

Microsoft made heap-big promises about Vista, then started throwing out one feature after another just to make their release-date. They will release "something," right on time, but it won't be what they promised to deliver. Not even close.

Given that both of these software-development organizations are known to be seasoned, competent, professional, and in every way "state of the art," this must be telling us something very important about "the state of the art." And the implications of this necessarily ripple down to every software development organization.

In a word: it's smarter to get on the new bandwagon, once it has so clearly proven itself, than to sit by the side of the road and watch ... umm ... your competitors roll by.