DevBlog

Novell's annual Braindead conference is in full swing here this week. The Salt Palace Convention Center in downtown Salt Lake City and the Delta Center just behind it are covered in gigantic red Novell banners and pictures of CNEs with big, smiling faces. If I had thought about it earlier, I would have taken pictures and posted them here for you. Novell has made several announcements. Perhaps the biggest is that Netware will no longer ship as a standalone product. Linux now rules at the big red N. They even rolled out Linus Torvalds himself at the event. Makes me wonder if any SCO people were hovering around. Then there are the CNEs wandering about the streets. Some are alone, others in packs. They look both reenergized after getting the rah-rah cheering from Novell execs and like a deer caught in the headlights after hearing about all the Lunix and Open Source products that are coming.

The Wasatch Front once ranked as the third biggest tech center in the country behind Silicon Valley and the Boston area. Looking at the big guys that have been here, WordImperfect was jetisoned some time ago. SCO will be close behind if it loses its legal battle. That will just leave Novell to continue floundering.

So, what's on the horizon? Intel is supposed to be building a big R&D facility, but I haven't seen any progress. Years ago, Micron built a chip manufacturing facility, then immediately moth balled it. Recently I heard some talk that it will open, but I'll believe that when I see it. When it was built, I predicted that it would never be used.

Just like pretty much anywhere, there are smaller companies around or large companies with small offices. Symantec has a small development shop here. And, or course, 3M. But, it looks like the big guys are gone and will probably never return.