See also: last week's Commerce page.

Linux and business

Linux in French schools. Jean-Paul Smets writes to us about the deployment of a Linux-based network in a school in Saint Dié, France. It is an interesting description of both the adoption of Linux in a public institution and the network architecture put together by the people at Linbox. Worth a read.

Selling Unix to suits Nicholas Carroll has written up a speech he uses to sell Unix (and Linux) systems to business customers. "You can try to sell them Linux right off, if you want. However, suits aren't into 'cool' much. They like established, accepted, winners. In the Internet, Unix is the winner. Linux is still a flavor coming into its own. If you want to pitch Linux, I think it makes more sense to make the Unix case first, and then pitch the Linux."

Siemens announces SAP R/3 benchmark record Siemens issued this release proclaiming its benchmark results with SAP R/3 on a Linux server. This claim has proved to be a bit controversial, since there is, in fact, an existing benchmark that got faster results on NT. The point seems to be this: the Siemens benchmark ran with R/3 4.0, while the NT benchmark used an earlier version. Apparently R/3 4.0 is somewhat slower than its predecessors, so lower benchmark results are to be expected. This issue will not be resolved until benchmarks with identical systems have been performed.

Linux banned from "large corporation". Here's an amusing (and disturbing) posting in the RISKS digest regarding "a large corporation" that banned Linux systems after a misconfigured Samba server created difficulties on their network. Of course, Linux has nothing to do with the problem...

The Computer Underground dumps Intel The Computer Underground, a vendor of Linux-installed systems, has announced that it will henceforth sell no more Intel-based systems.

Press Releases:

Hardware:
• Blue Disc announced a new 40GB DLTtape storage drive. Should work with a Linux system.

• Hewlett-Packard Company announced a $50 rebate on its thin-client systems, including the Linux-based model.

• IndyBox Systems announced they would be lowering the price of their AMD Athlon based 500MHz ~ 700MHz KA Series by 25%. Pricing begins at $1,000.00, with one of the many GNU/Linux distributions pre-installed and optimized with the latest stable kernel and X server.

• Sun Microsystems, Inc. has reduced the price of its Ultra 5 workstation. When coupled with the SunPCi PC co-processor card, the Ultra 5 offers the flexibility of six different operating environments in a single box, including Solaris, Windows*, and Linux.

  Complete Systems:

• Concentric Network Corp. unveiled ConcentricHost Managed Server Linux, a new dedicated hosting solution utilizing Cobalt RaQ 2 server appliances from Cobalt Networks, Inc.

• Cybernet Systems Corporation put out four seperate announcements describing its NetMAX software, which is meant to turn a Linux system into a "network appliance." The series includes web serving, firewalling, and file and print serving.

• SSE Telecom Inc. announced the iP3 satellite Internet gateway product line. The iP3 gateway is built on a PC platform running the Linux operating system.

  Software:

• Ariel Corp. released its "remote access driver" software for Linux under an open source license.

• ARPHIC TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD. announced the release of 4 sets of True Type Fonts as Free Software.

• CRYPTOCard and Red Hat, Inc. announced the shipping of CRYPTOCard's CRYPTOAdmin 4.0 authentication server with the application CD that ships with Red Hat Linux 6.1.

• CSV Technologies Inc. announced the release of EZTerm 1.3 for the Linux Operating System Platform.

• Dirig Software, Inc. introduced Proctor 1.5, Dirig's software for managing client/server, distributed and Internet applications running on Windows NT, Solaris and Linux Server Environments.

• Enlighten Software Solutions, Inc. announced that EnlightenDSM Version 3.4 is available for download and supports TurboLinux Workstation Version 3.6. Downloads are available at www.TurboLinux.EnlightenDSM.com.

• Entera, Inc. announced the availability of a streaming server for (Red Hat) Linux which supports QuickTime 4.

• Hewlett-Packard Company announced availability of OpenMail for Linux with a promotional discount bundle.

• Informix Corporation presented Internet Foundation.2000 for Linux, an XML data-driven Internet application.

• Knox Software Arkeia software received the Editor's Choice Award for file storage and recovery from "LinuxWorld Magazine" at LinuxWorld on Aug. 10, 1999 in San Jose, Calif. For some reason they are just getting around to making a press release about it now.

• Lutris Technologies announced the inclusion of Enhydra 2.2, an Open Source Java/XML Application Server, on the Red Hat 6.1 Application CD.

• Macromedia, Inc. announced that it's Macromedia Generator 2 will be available for Linux in November.

• OfficeFree.Com, Inc. is offering the iConfigurator Suite of Internet Sales Automation tools for small to medium sized businesses who want to quickly create a Business-to-Business (B2B) e-commerce site. iConfigurator v1.0 is available for Sun Solaris, Windows NT and Linux.

• OpenNetwork Technologies announced the release of an extended suite of companion products to DirectorySmart that provides solutions for secure access control, PKI integration and communication management. DirectorySmart 3.11 is available now and runs on Windows NT 4.0, Solaris 2.6, Linux, Red Hat 6, and Caldera 2.2. It is compatible with Netscape's Directory Server 3.0, 4.0 and IBM's SecureWay Directory 3.1.

• Planet-Intra.Com announced that its Instant Intranet Portal is now available in 10 languages. The Planet-Intra software package runs on the NT and Unix -- including Linux and Solaris -- operating systems and is available through the company's website.

• Quantified Systems, Inc. announced the genesis of Return On Investment Reporting (ROIR) with e-Urchin, a built-in module in the Urchin 2.2 software. Urchin is available for most UNIX platforms including Linux.

• SuperAnt announced the Expert Linux CD which contains a live Linux filesystem that autoboots into a full version of Linux without using a harddisk. For more information and ordering goto s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/ts/exchange-glance/Y01Y\6537598Y8342874/

• Tripp Lite says the Linux communitity has responded favorably to their decision to make it's PowerAlert Universal UPS Management Software available to Linux developers in an open source environment.

• VSI (V-Systems, Inc.) announced the latest version of VSI-FAX 4.0, now available for Linux.

• WebTrends Corporation announced a trial version of WebTrends Enterprise Reporting Server for Linux will be included on the upcoming server edition of Red Hat's Linux Applications CD (LACD).

  Web Sites:

• Aceweb Internet announced the launch of GameArchives.com (http://www.gamearchives.com), a computer gaming site featuring free downloads of the best games available for PC. All major platforms, including Linux, are supported.

• Computer Associates International, Inc. announced the availability of MasterIT for Content Management, CA's Web site and server management product. MasterIT for Content Management supports Web applications running on the Windows NT server platform, as well as all client and authoring tool platforms supporting Java II specifications -- including UNIX, Linux and MacOS.

• HiTecSoft Corp. announced that their Patchlink.com Portal Service has won the final round of Novell Developer Contest in Best Custom Internet/Intranet Services Category. Patchlink has all the commonly used patches for every popular operating system, including Linux.

• Jintek announced ScheduleOnline Intranet, a productized version of its group collaboration Web site, ScheduleOnline (www.scheduleonline.com). There is a beta version available for Linux.

• The NetAid Web Site was launched in the Philippines. The project will hopefully benefit poverty-stricken countries. The web site is powered by Red Hat Linux.

• Number Nine Visual Technology Corp. unveiled its new NINE.com online store. The new NINE.com website runs under Linux.

• ProVillage, Inc. introduced its business community portal solution at Fall Internet World '99. ProVillage runs under Linux.

• Up!Lot, Inc. announced today the launch of uplot.com, a virtual PC for users to store, edit, and share their files in a secure location on the Web. Up!Lot is designed on the Linux system.

• VServers announced the release of a free Web hosting and domain name parking service called DomainValet. VServers offers a range of Unix, NT, and Linux virtual servers as an alternative to buying and maintaining a dedicated server and Internet connections.

• WebLine Communications Corp. unveiled WebLine Media Router. Platforms supported include Windows NT, Sun Solaris and Linux.

  Other:

• Linux application software maker Applix, Inc. announced that it has chosen Frontline Now! to expand the Applixware presence in the retail, catalog, e-tail, corporate reseller and academic markets.

• BeLinked and X and Mail announced that they have entered into a marketing and product development alliance. BeLinked's web calendar, integrated with X and Mail's Xwebmail web-based client, platform is easily customized to fit specific business models, and supports Open Source systems including LDAP, Linux and Apache.

• Caldera Systems announced that OpenLinux 2.3 is the company's best selling product ever.

• DigitalThink announced the immediate availability of "Linux/UNIX Network Administration I," the latest course in the Linux/UNIX System and Network Administration Series.

• eSoft, a Linux thin server company, announced the completion of another round of financing.

• Linuxcare signs a deal with Inter Space Planning Corporation. ISP sells servers in Japan, and Linuxcare will now be supporting them.

• Magic Software announced a partnership with Red Hat which will include the release of the "Magic Enterprise Server" for Red Hat 6.1.

• National Semiconductor Corporation has appointed INFOMATEC AG / IGEL Technology Labs to serve National's Asia Pacific customers of its information appliance platforms.

• Oracle Corp. announced that with the immediate availability of Oracle Application Server 4.0.8., it is also launching a sales promotion aimed at former NetDynamics, Netscape and Forte application server customers. They say that the Oracle Application Server is one of the most popular products on OTN, amassing some 64,000 downloads in the past six months, and of those, 42,000 have been for the Linux operating system. This promotion will be available through Oracle's online store at oraclestore.oracle.com or from any Oracle sales representative.

• O'Reilly and Associates published "Learning Red Hat Linux," by Bill McCarty, a new beginner's book, and 'Practical Internet Groupware' by Jon Udell.

• Pinacor, Inc. recently signed new Apple-complementary suppliers to its list of partners. These new suppliers include Yellow Dog Linux by Terra Soft Solutions, Inc.

• Rare Medium Inc. announced it has opened a Java competency center in San Antonio.

• Survey.com and ENT magazine announced the "Linux and Open Source Software Research Initiative." They say they plan to produce a comprehensive set of reports on open source software. ENT, of course, is a Windows NT magazine... "The open source software market is currently experiencing tremendous growth, accompanied by a degree of zealotry and hype that is obscuring the real impact of this software licensing model on corporate IT."

• Tzolkin Corporation announced that it has joined Red Hat's developer partner program, and that its dynamic DNS implementation will be available for the Red Hat distribution.

Section Editor: Jon Corbet.

Next: Linux in the news