See also: last week's Linux in the news page.

Linux in the news

ZDNet has put up an open letter to Netscape's Marc Andreessen. The advice is pretty radical, given the source: "Now is not the time to become second-string technologist at AOL... Instead, grab the bull by the horns and re-establish yourself at the center of the Internet revolution. Only, this time, become the chief champion of the Open Source movement."
• The author of this PC Week column takes an egalitarian approach: he complains about all operating systems equally. "That's why I see businesses forcing vendors to work together. The consumers will push Microsoft to accept Linux; they'll push for development of stronger NT development (for example, Winsock) APIs on the Linux kernel. They'll push Microsoft to accept NDS because consumers don't plan to dump it." An interesting read, actually.

• First Monday has put up a long, academic article about free software and its "anarcho-communist" roots. It suffers from some annoying flaws (everything is "shareware"), but is worth a look anyway. "The commercial survival of Netscape depends upon successfully collaborating with hackers from the hi-tech gift economy. Anarcho-communism is now sponsored by corporate capital." (Thanks to Dunstan Vavasour).

• Jimmy Aitken pointed out this article in New Scientist. It is an unusually extensive and accurate introductory article, a good one to pass to people who don't yet "get" free software. "The 'open source' movement is Microsoft's worst nightmare: a group of programmers that it cannot outcompete because its members are not motivated by profit, and which it cannot buy because they do not exist as a formal company. And because the results of their work are so good, more and more of Microsoft's potential customers are turning to them."

• The Independent has a far-ranging article that is all about the benefits of open source development. It's well written and very positive. "The momentum behind open-source software is moving it to the mission-critical environment where Sun currently operates. It is not just the humble spreadsheets, but large-scale e-commerce, banking and high-traffic websites that will soon be using open-source software." (Thanks to Jimmy Aitken).

• Here's a brief mention in TechWeek's predictions for 1999. "1999 is also shaping up to be the year of open source software, evidenced by the enthusiasm for the Linux operating system..." (Scroll toward the bottom of the page).

• CNN has a Top 10 IT news stories for 1998 column up, evidently reprinted from Network World Fusion. One of them is "Linux becomes a household name."

• Dan Gillmor at the San Jose Mercury also has a "looking back" column. "I'm skeptical of predictions that Linux represents a threat to Windows on desktop computers, but I'm increasingly convinced that Linux has a real chance to challenge the next version of Windows NT, a.k.a. Windows 2000, on more powerful ``server'' machines in coming years."

• Here's one ComputerWorld columnist's negative predictions for 1999. "Linux takes its rightful place. Among other niche operating systems, that is... Microsoft is what it is because there are tens of thousands of independent developers worldwide working on the Microsoft platform. That isn't Linux, not today, not in 12 months, and probably not ever."

Linux in and around corporations remains a topic of interest, of course.

• This article in Network World Fusion talks about Linux in corporations via a number of examples. "Linux proponents have something to prove to chief information officers: Anything commercial operating systems can do, Linux can do better." (Note that NW Fusion is a registration-required site; the usual "cypherpunks" account works there for those who do not wish to register). (Thanks to Marty Leisner).

• Service News, "the newspaper for computer service and support," discovers Linux. The article is mostly positive; one senses that they see an opportunity there. "For [Cisco engineer] Dart, support isn't an issue because he 'never has any problems.'"

• GameWeek has a brief article about Loki Software and their plan to port commercial games to Linux.

• News.com also ran an article about Loki Software. "...there are an estimated 7.5 million Linux users out there today, a growing and largely game-deprived population."

• Computer Currents coversthe latest moves by Pacific HiTech. "...an unnamed Japanese organization ... is switching an installation of 20,000 machines based on Hewlett-Packard's Unix to Turbo Linux. In some other examples of recent big wins for the company, Kyoto University will install the operating system on 600 machines and a large telecommunications company will begin installing the OS on desktops." (Thanks to Nancy Pomeroy).

• CBS MarketWatch talks about Netscape, open source, and the new rendering engine. "With so many developers and companies all concurrently adding features and fixing bugs, what results via the open-source-code system is often measurably superior to proprietary software alternatives. "

• News.com has an articleabout the Word Perfect release. "Although Corel will offer a free version of WordPerfect for personal users, Corel also plans to sell the software to business users and to personal users who want manuals, a CD-ROM, clip art, and technical support. Email-based technical support will be available for a fee for users of the downloaded version."

The rest we'll group into "miscellaneous and introductory articles."

• MIT's Technology Review has an article about GNOME. It's quite long, covering the GNOME project by starting with Richard Stallman 20 years ago; thus it turns into an extensive introductory article. It's reasonably well done and accurate, worth a look. "GNOME users, de Icaza promises flatly, will not turn off their computers by clicking a button labeled 'Start.'"
• There is an introductory article in AsiaWeek. It's somewhat positive, despite a certain amount of "no support" and "no applications" FUD. "With Linux out in the open, there is no clear road map for its future evolution, nor any help line for users. Troubleshooting is done by sending a question to a Linux newsgroup on the Net. Can CEOs sleep soundly knowing that their firm's health might depend on a sleepless seventeen-year-old in Idaho?"

• The Malaysian "The Star" ran a whole set of Linux articles in a separate pullout section; the InTech pullout page points to the whole set. That link will certainly go stale shortly, so here are pointers to the individual articles, which should hopefully stay put: Taking the world by storm is a fairly standard introductory piece; What's new in Red Hat 5.1? is a slightly behind-the-times review; Linux myths debunked! is an advocacy page addressing myths some of us never knew existed (i.e. "Linux is hard to network"); Where do you want to be dragged today? covers the Halloween memos; Caught in the Linux web is a list of links; and Getting the FAQ's right is their own attempt at an installation FAQ. (Thanks to Kenny Lim).

• ComputerWorld has a brief article on the Linux Beer Hike. "But not all Linux users are enthused about combining beer and business. One user, responding to a Web site that posted news of the tour, sent the following reminder: 'Friends don't let friends hack drunk.'"

• Also in ComputerWorld: an article about the search for OS alternatives. "However, because Linux predates Windows NT and has problems taking advantage of capabilities packed in current-generation hardware, Enderle said he doubts the operating system will ever become a mainstream desktop alternative."

• The folks at OS/2 Headquarters have put out part 3 of their 'Learning from Linux' series, which is an analysis of the Halloween memos from an OS/2 point of view.

• Windows Magazine discusses Linux. The article leans toward the negative, but concludes: "I hope Linux can mature into an OS that will give Microsoft some real competition. It's worth watching, and I'm keeping my copy alive for further testing." (Found in OS News).

• This article in the Boston Globe is about Tim O'Reilly and open source. "...open-sourcing possesses an economic logic so powerful that O'Reilly thinks it could transform the software industry so completely that, in the end, it would bear a stronger resemblance to the social organization of the scientific community than to, say, the industrial organization of the oil business." (Found in Linux Today).

• There is an introductory article in the New Zealand Listener. "...as geek girls pursue Torvalds like a pop star, and major software vendors begin to develop versions of their applications for Linux, Microsoft may be facing its sternest challenge yet." (Found in Linux Reviews).

• David Strom's Web Informant learns to love Linux. "It doesn't take long to install, and indeed is easier to get onto a new machine than NT or even Windows 98. Once you get it set up to your liking, the system will run like a top, and keep running forever." (Thanks to Nancy Pomeroy).

• ZDNet has a brief blurb showing that they have discovered Samba. "Web development workgroup managers should be aware that setting up a Linux file and Web server is easier than ever. This is an important piece of the puzzle for those rooting for the Linux penguin as it waddles pluckily into Microsoft territory."

• Last, and perhaps least, EDN magazine ran this anti-Unix hatchet job "Are you telling me that the supposedly brightest OS minds in the business can't adopt a more uniform directory structure? Just choose a shell-any shell. You don't need a half-dozen shells in which 75% of the commands are the same and 25% couldn't be more different." (Found in OS News).

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