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Apr. 11, 2005

Novell will ship a new version of its Linux-based POS (point-of-sales/service) software in Q2, 2005. Novell Point of Service 9 (POS9) encompasses both central server and client software, and will be resold by POS giant IBM, as well as bank and retailer POS specialist Wincor-Nixdorf.

Novell calls POS9 "the only Linux distribution designed specifically for retail point of service." It comprises images for a variety of POS client and server systems. The smallest image has a 30MB footprint and requires only 64MB of RAM, Novell says, while the largest offers a comprehensive back-office platform, including desktop software, a browser, and productivity software.

POS9 is based on SuSE Linux, which Novell acquired in November, 2003. Novell was rumored to be looking to acquire an embedded Linux vendor a year ago. However, Novell also acquired substantial embedded experience and expertise when it bought SuSE.

Longtime SuSE user and recent Novell investor IBM will base the next version of its IBM Retail Environment for SuSE Linux on POS9, Novell says. According to Novell, IBM is the world's largest vendor of POS systems.

Additionally, Novell has partnered with Wincor-Nixdorf, one of the first POS device vendors to embrace Linux. Wincor-Nixdorf partnered with Red Hat in October of 2000 on Linux firmware for its BEETLE POS device. The BEETLE boasted 600,000 installations within two years, Wincor-Nixdorf said, and was deployed by high-profile customers such as Home Depot and Papa John's, among others.

Wincor-Nixdorf says the deal with Novell around POS9 will enable it to extend its offerings to include Linux servers that can centrally manage a network of POS clients.

Michael Prince, CIO of Novell POS software user Burlington Coat Factory, said, "Linux gives us a level of reliability that retailers never could have afforded before. The systems in our retail stores are so stable they can run for six months or more without being rebooted, and we have yet to see a virus attack."

Linux is the fastest growing OS in retail POS systems, according to a 2003 study by IHL Consulting Group. However, Microsoft has shown increasing interest in what it calls the "point-of-service" market, announcing in October a version of Windows XP Embedded aimed at the retail and hospitality industries. Embedded Linux distributor LynuxWorks, meanwhile, began shipping a Linux-based POS environment in January.