We ran into 20 different support contracts for a single vendor. We weren't getting economies of scale, and software licenses were very difficult to manage.

In the old days most software manufacturers provided free support for their programs--it used to be possible to call the WordPerfect Corporation on an 800 number to get free help. Nowadays, you have to have a credit card handy to get help.

SUSE Linux users, who number in the millions worldwide, continue to show their support by installing the software in great numbers and seeking more opportunities to collaborate with Novell.

We have developed special software and applications to support Chinese users but we won't launch specifically designed products for mainland users.

We feel we're at critical mass in terms of having both software and computer maker support far enough along that IT departments can start to evaluate the technology. We're at the stage where people should start their pilot with a notion of moving to production in a quarter or so.

We are pleased our partnership with Novell now extends to the support of Novell's powerful and popular GroupWise software. This is a great example of how our two companies are jointly advancing the capabilities of Linux across the enterprise.