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See also: last week's Linux in the news page.
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This week's Linux press, not surprisingly, was dominated by windows refund
stories. We have a pile of those down at the end of this page. Meanwhile,
here's the recommended reading for the week:
- First Monday
reports on hacking. "Hacking is discussed in the context of being a
method for system development. Finally, it is argued that this
system development method under certain circumstances may yield
superior software artifacts." (Thanks to Dunstan Vavasour).
- What is a business to do with all the confusion coming out of
Microsoft? That's the topic of
this PC Week editorial. "We think the real message to IT
managers is that they need an independent technology strategy. If
Microsoft's meanderings sow confusion, then managers should not
lean too heavily on Microsoft as a partner. Instead, they should
scan the horizon for products based on such standards as CORBA,
Java and Linux."
- Red Hat Linux wins
InfoWorld's Product of the Year Award for operating systems. "Red Hat
Software has definitely been an instrumental force in ushering
Linux into the enterprise. In past years, Red Hat Linux won for its
ease, stability, and utility as a multipurpose, low-end to midrange
server platform. We selected the product again this year for
continuing to build on those themes in its latest release."
(Thanks to Troels Arvin).
- Fortune Magazine has put out
a hilariously cynical summary of Microsoft's defense thus far in
the antitrust trial. "But no moment has been quite so Alice in
Wonderland as the one we're about to see... The video
begins. 'Hello,' chirps an effervescent young Microsoft employee.
'This is a demonstration of the Caldera OpenLinux operating
system.' ... The young Microsoftie continues: 'The demonstration
will show that Caldera's operating system provides effective
functionality for end users.'" (Thanks to Marty Leisner)
- The LinuxPower folks have put up
an interview with Wichert Akkerman, the leader of the Debian
project. Worth a read.
- The folks behind the
Linux in Brazil site
have put together an extensive
review of all word processors that run on Linux. And they mean all,
proprietary and free alike. The site is in Portuguese, of course,
but translations of a sort are available
via Babelfish. (Thanks to Augusto Campos).
There were just a couple of introductory articles out there:
- PC World
discovers Linux with this basic introductory article. It seems almost
like something from a year ago. "It won't be replacing Windows
anytime soon, but a geeky, once-obscure variant of UNIX is winning
the hearts and minds of a growing number of PC users."
- The L.A. Times ran
this introductory article. "'Intends' seems to be an operative
word when it comes to programs that turn Linux into a user-
friendly operating environment. Although Linux is well-tuned as a
server operating system for professionals, it is more of a work in
progress as a desktop platform for the masses."
There were lots of business-oriented articles, as usual. IBM, VA Research,
and LinuxCare all got special mentions, but there was a lot of other stuff
as well.
- Perhaps the most detailed coverage thus far of IBM's plans can be
found in
this News.com article. "IBM is in the midst of a company-wide
adoption of Linux, lifting the Unix-like technology to the status
of more traditional operating systems."
- InfoWorld
reports on IBM's upcoming Linux announcements. "Some observers
question whether bundling an open-source operating system might
threaten proprietary software businesses surrounding AIX, including
the operating system and the thousands of AIX-compatible
applications. IBM officials reportedly believe the opportunity
available to them in the Linux market can cover any losses they
would suffer elsewhere."
- This PC Week column tries to make the point that Linux is not IBM's
most interesting offering - AS/400 is. "With its gestures of
support for Linux, IBM opens people's minds, but IBM is ready to
drive through that opening with a system that is more fully proven
and supported."
- The first report on IBM's plans seems to have been
this PC Week article. "IBM also will lead a new trend by
announcing support for more than just one commercial Linux
vendor. IBM plans to announce licensing deals with several top
Linux distributors, including Red Hat Software Inc., Pacific HiTech
Inc., Caldera Systems Inc. and S.u.S.E." (Found in
Slashdot).
- This TechWeb article is yet another in the series about LinuxCare's
opening, but they also claim that
Cygnus will be announcing a
Linux support program at LinuxWorld. "With corporations
suddenly being faced with having to pay for support for something
they didn't even know they had, it raises the questions as to
whether there could be an anti-Linux backlash by corporate managers
who seek to regain control by ripping out all the Linux and
installing NT."
- Folks wanting more coverage of
LinuxCare's startup can
find it at
Inter@ctive Week or
MSNBC (but
it's the same article in both places).
- The Age writes about VA Research (with a
digression into the writings of Eric Raymond). "Augustin said the move
to open source is so inexorable, it is likely that soon we won't even
consider its existence; instead we will question when we can't get the
code. He said Sun Microsystems has told all its divisions they have until
the end of the year to provide road maps to move development to open
source, or give good reasons why they should be exempt."
- VA Research was also the focus of
this article in Internet Week... "At a
time when blue-chip names like Compaq, Dell Computer, IBM, Lotus,
Oracle and Informix Corp. are tossing their hats into the Linux
arena, why should anyone pay attention to an unknown company?
Because it knows more about Linux than the large companies,
according to VA Research founder Larry Augustin..."
- This article in ComputerWorld is about
how most IT managers still don't know what Linux is,
or oppose it if they do. (ComputerWorld also doesn't know, given
their frequent use of the term "shareware"). "A typical
Linux-averse example is Wells Fargo & Co., a commercial bank based
in San Francisco... The bank knows how to deal with blue-chip
operating systems such as Windows NT and NetWare, he said. But
shareware -- with little or no support -- could pose a risk, he
said. The company has sought to root out unauthorized shareware
installations, including at least one Linux implementation."
- Computer Currents is carrying
a Newsbytes article about the North American release of SuSE 6.0.
"'We've almost sold more in the past week than we sold of
(version) 5.3 in its whole distribution,' [SuSE manager] Kohlmeyer
said. 'The preorders have been really strong here and the pattern
is international. The German version has sold 100,000 in the past 6
weeks, compared to about 60,000 for the whole run of 5.3.'"
- InfoWorld has handed out more "1999 Product of the Year" awards.
The
Industry Achievement Award goes to "Tim O'Reilly and the collaborative
software community." Oracle, Sybase, and Informix won the
Enterprise Development award. "I bestow this joint award in recognition
of the companies' database implementations on the Linux platform
this past year. The introduction of these database management
solutions on Linux promotes continued growth and collaboration
among open-source, commercial, and corporate developers." And
the
Firefighter of the year award went to a guy named Scott Anderson, who made
a crucial travel agency application work properly by moving parts
of it to a Linux system.
A few other miscellaneous stories of interest, including non-English
articles:
- InfoWorld columnist Bob Lewis
rates several technologies for their potential for success. Linux as
a server is "a winner"; on the desktop, instead, it's "iffy."
(Thanks to David Morgan).
- Here's an interesting story in The Age about Samba.
"[Samba developer Andrew Tridgell] said customers were starting
to demand Microsoft be compatible with Samba, edging out the larger
software vendor as the locus for the network."
- Also in The Age: a two-part piece about the "Slashdot effect."
The first part is about Slashdot proper, while
the second half focuses on
LinuxToday and, well, LWN.
- The Swedish paper Datateknik has put out a lengthy "white paper" on
Linux that is said to be an interesting read. It's available in
PDF format (in Swedish, of course) from
this directory. (Thanks to Mattias Sandström).
- For Dutch-capable readers:
De underground-software mist een promotiedienst in InterMediair is
a positive introductory piece. (Thanks to Mark Tetrode).
- Also for Dutch folks:
this article in De Volkskrant, which is about Linux and how it may
be a threat to that large, proprietary software firm. (Thanks to
Jan Christiaan van Winkel, Jaap van Bekhoven, and Pieter van den
Hombergh).
Now...we know you've all been waiting breathlessly for yet another barrage
of windows refund day stories. Wait no more...
- If you want to read just one article on this topic, you can do worse
than
this San Francisco Chronicle story. It also includes some pictures and a
quicktime movie. "Yesterday's demonstrations could be dismissed
as the act of a small but vocal band of Linux fanatics. Yet
computer industry analyst Rob Enderlee of Giga Information Group in
Santa Clara said the protests may be only the first assault by
Linux proponents on Microsoft's seemingly impenetrable fortress."
- There are two separate articles in Wired News (
firstand
second).
- Also two in PC Week,
the first geing a general piece, and
the second about activities in Manhattan.
- There is an article in the Deseret News.
- CBS Marketwatch has
a windows refund day article which looks a bit more closely at
efforts to market Linux. "'Hackers are finally discovering the
power of publicity,' said [Don] Marti. 'It should have been
obvious. Instead of using code to improve a machine's behavior, you
are using words and actions to improve a person's behavior.'"
- ComputerWorld also has
a windows refund day story which includes some brief coverage
from New York City and Germany.
- Stéfane Fermigier has sent out a summary (in French) on windows refund day events in France.
(English text available (sort of)
via Babelfish).
- The Age had a
windows refund day article of its own.
- There's an article in the
New York Daily News with a microscopic picture. (This is the AP
article which ran in a lot of US papers).
- MSNBCran a longer AP article (with a bigger picture).
- Finally, there was an article in
The BBC.
More articles can be found in
this Slashdot topic.
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February 18, 1999
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