Back in the 1990s, the Unix community attempted to unify APIs with limited results, he noted. But the "odds are good" for success this go-round. "It's not just Novell," he added. "There are other advocates for standardization of the API set," such as the Linux Foundation.

'Truly Not There Yet'

Applications is just one of several areas where Linux needs to progress, Hovsepian warned attendees, noting that virtualization and data center management are key. "I'm here to tell you we're not there yet. We're truly not there yet," Hovsepian said. "And I don't want you to fall asleep at this point in time."

Linux should take advantage of the virtualization support chipmakers are embedding in their products, he said. Intel's Xeon server chips and AMD 's Opteron processors include virtualization technologies that "are going to be critical in the market and they're going to push the use of virtualization," he said.

In addition to talking about what Linux must do to move into the mainstream, Hovsepian commented on Novell's controversial interoperability deal with Microsoft. Under that arrangement, Microsoft promised not to sue Novell customers for infringing any Microsoft patents that Linux might violate. The latest version of SUSE includes the GPLv3 license, which forbids just that sort of patent deal.

Last month, Microsoft said it is not bound by GPLv3. But Hovsepian said there is no problem. "We will give [customers] the most current release we are shipping to the market -- including GPLv3 code. In its simplest form, it is a coupon that customers redeem and we'll deliver to them the latest distro on the shelf at that time," he said.

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