13 Scenes From BrainShare

Thousands of Novell employees, technicians and partners descended on Salt Lake City for the company's annual BrainShare conference at the Salt Palace convention center downtown. Here's a look at the happenings at this year's event.

Pictured right, John Dragoon, Novell's SVP and chief marketing officer, warms up the crowd before the opening keynote speeches.

President and CEO Ron Hovsepian greets an enthusiastic BrainShare crowd. "We have to align all of our people and resources to line up behind your vision," he told attendees.

Novell chief technology officer Jeff Jaffe outlined the vision behind "The Fossa Project."

Fossa's aim, is one of interoperability and usability, he said. "The agile company is continually able to reorganize its digital resources," he said. "Fossa facilitates collaboration and enhances the ability of businesses to handle mergers and acquisitions."

Novell makes its presence known on the outside Salt Lake City's Salt Palace convention center.

Attendees take advantage of HP laptops loaded with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED).

Novell's branding throughout the Salt Palace was ubiquitous and detail-oriented, as this escalator demonstrates.

BrainShare attendees explore the exhibitors space on the first floor.

An example of Novell's branding efforts that provided high impact -- and a place to sit.

Novell provided areas for rest and relaxation. Here, attendees check up on email and recline with some classic episodes of "Get Smart."

Giant posters adorned the towers of the Salt Palace convention center, which could be seen from several blocks away.

A professional staff was on hand, so to speak, to massage the stress out of attendees.

Novell provided a Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360 for entertainment in the "hot spot."

Three pool tables were among the provided entertainment at BrainShare 2008.