Timeline: July 2nd.
Place: Mainland China.

Novell has joined the Chinese Linux Standards Working Group. They are the second foreign company to join the group in China. Head of sales operations Ma Qingsheng, brought up an interesting point that I think is very important. He said; “Most local Linux sellers have not actively participated in international Linux standardization programs.” However, the move by Novell will hopefully make the importance of participating in standardization programs clear so that software, drivers and other projects can continue to progress in by some sort of standard. Imagine what it would be like with standard Linux package installers and automatic driver detection. While standardization groups do not guarantee these things, they could be huge step in the right direction. We just have to have the right kind of group. :o)