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Should I stay or should I go?

Would anyone miss Corel if it left the Linux market? Or would the companybe cherished it if it stayed?
Written by Evan Liebovitch, Contributor
Speed up, slow down, or get out of the way.

A long-retired local morning DJ always signed off with that line, and it came to mind after I heard the mixed messages Corel has been sending since Microsoft gave it a cash injection less than two months ago. I originally thought that Microsoft was going to use Corel as a double agent. It would be a perfect way for Microsoft to keep its eye on Linux goings-on -- and maybe even support Linux products -- while officially continuing to maintain the position that Linux isn't a credible alternative to its own operating systems.

Instead, the move seems to have prodded Corel into re-evaluating its own offerings. News reports indicate that the company is now gauging whether it would be better off expanding or folding its Linux operations. And since Corel is asking out loud whether Linux is good for the company's future, it's fair game to turn the tables and wonder whether Corel's continuing involvement is good -- let alone necessary -- for Linux.

Corel has never seemed to grasp where the Linux market was, is, or is going. When the company first came out with a distribution, it concentrated on a desktop play and ignored Linux's strengths in the server and Internet space.

One could argue that Corel was simply capitalizing on its traditional desktop strengths and that it was thinking of the long term. But the rest of the Linux world has caught up and passed Corel's desktop "innovations." The file browser that Corel spun off the stock KDE (K Desktop Environment) version may have been novel when it was released, but it has since been surpassed by the Konqueror package that's now a standard part of KDE Release 2. The coming Nautilus tool from Eazel will offer similar levels of sophistication for GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) users.

In retrospect, Corel's strategy was not ahead of its time. The company merely took an open-source project -- the KDE file manager -- in a new direction in order to include something unique, if not proprietary, in the initial Corel Linux release. But the company is paying a price for that move today: Corel is out of touch with community development, which is now bypassing its own efforts. The KDE and GNOME bazaars have overwhelmed the Corel cathedral.

The file browser is only one area in which Corel separated itself from the community. Outside of its participation in Ottawa's Linux Users Group (which at times seemed more like a personnel-hunting expedition than real involvement), Corel couldn't recognize the Linux community if it tried. Widely backed grass-roots groups such as the Linux Standard Base and Linux Professional Institute simply are not part of Corel's world. Attempts by the Canadian Linux Users' Exchange to enlist Corel's help have been answered with silence.

While Corel says on its Web site that it's been helping with the Wine Windows-emulation project, the fact is -- according to Wine organizer Alexandre Julliard -- that Corel dropped its participation in Wine as soon as it shipped WordPerfect Office for Linux.

Corel also hasn't maintained its Linux very well. Its first release has been out for more than a year, and to date its Web site lists just one security patch. While most other distribution vendors have been scrambling to ensure that they keep up with open source patches and updates, Corel has left users to fend for themselves.

So how has the company compensated for its weaknesses? By shoving lots of publicity before a public that wasn't familiar with Linux and giving out tons of doodads: inflatable penguins, stuffed penguins, squishy rubber penguins. At the same time, vendors like Macmillan surpassed Corel in the retail channel by offering more substance and fewer toys.

In light of all this, it's no surprise that Corel is not seen as much of a player in the greater Linux world. The combination of an indifferent public and an alienated community leaves Corel in an unworkable position. Corel's blessing of Linux was important in its time, but now the company has discovered that it badly needs to buy itself some Linux smarts or just get out of the market altogether. Either way, the Linux distribution field will see some badly needed consolidation.

Should Corel ramp up or get out? Tell Evan in the TalkBack below or in the ZDNet Linux Forum. Or write to Evan directly at evan@starnix.com.

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