I have been using NetDrive
(http://support.novell.com/servlet/filedownload/uns/pub/ndrv41862.exe/)
for years now, and it is a very innovative piece of software. It
completely alters the way that people use FTP to transfer files …
making it as easy as “mapping a drive”. With NetDrive I can “map”
a drive letter, say “N:” to my FTP server on the Internet. I can
then “drag and drop” files just like any other drive on my system.

The real issue with FTP is that it is not the most secure protocol that
you can use. Most Linux and UNIX users are using SSH and SCP
instead. SSH is the “secure shell” and combined with SCP, a
“secure copy” it allows you to access your remote boxes through an
encrypted connection. I use both of these all day, and what hit
me was that the usability of SCP – even using WinSCP – is not equal to
that of NetDrive.

I started to check and see if Novell had released a version of NetDrive
that would use the secure protocols, and found that I could not locate
any newer versions of NetDrive! The last one I can see if from 17
Apr 2003! And there is no apparent work on a version that
supports SSH/SCP …

Here they have a very powerful tool that could be used to “seed” the
market and alter how people access Linux from Windows … branded with
Novell’s name … and they seem to be letting it die.

Novell … drop it into Open Source … or update it! You are again allowing a valuable beachhead to disappear …