Sections: Main page
Security
Kernel
Distributions
Development
Commerce Linux in the news
Announcements
Back page
All in one big page
See also: last week's Commerce page.
|
Creative Labs has released a driver for the SB Live card, and, even
better, it is licensed under the GPL. SB Live users have been a
long-suffering group; Creative initially did not want to support Linux at
all, then released a buggy, binary-only driver that was not updated for a
long time. So it is nice to see that they have now come around and made
source code available. Even if the new driver works no better than the old
one did, fixes should be available in a short period of time.
Alan Cox has already looked over the driver and sent back suggestions for
improvements. He has also indicated that it will go off to Linus shortly
for inclusion in the mainline kernel source.
With luck, Creative will see the just results from releasing this driver:
now that SB Live cards will be properly supported under Linux, Linux users
will start buying them. Creative is a hardware company, it has everything
to gain by having its hardware be properly supported under Linux.
Congratulations and thanks are due to Creative - better late than never.
(See Creative's open source
page for (a little) more information and downloads).
The Cobalt Networks initial public offering should happen on Friday,
November 5. This IPO will be the first indication of how well the "Linux
mania" carries over into the more hardware-oriented side of the business.
Here's a
press release about it.
LinuxOne has a product, which was actually released ahead of
LinuxOne's intended IPO. Here is the
press release for "LinuxOne Lite," a UMSDOS-based distribution which
runs under Windows. It is presented as an easy way for Windows users to
try out and experiment with Linux without having to go through a full
installation.
LinuxOne Lite thus competes with other products, like WinLinux. It remains to be seen,
however, whether there is really much of a market for "Linux over Windows"
products. Meanwhile, this version of the operating system has certain
limitations - such as the fact that it can not access the Internet - which
will probably obstruct its widespread acceptance. It is not yet clear that
LinuxOne has a compelling product to justify its IPO ambitions.
Those wishing to try out the product can find it on this slow
FTP site. One wonders if it is really necessary, however, to
download a 60MB swap file...
The Red Hat Center for Open Source. Red Hat has announced
the creation of the "Red Hat Center for Open Source," a non-profit
organization that "...will sponsor, support, promote and engage in a wide
range of scientific and educational projects intended to advance the social
principles of open source for the greater good of the general public."
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the announcement was the naming of
John Seely Brown, a respected researcher and Xerox Chief Scientist, to the
board of directors. Mr. Brown should bring an interesting voice to this
center as it figures out what it is really doing.
Press Releases:
Products for Linux:
-
Applix, Inc. announced that Applixware Office for Linux 4.4.2 has
won a Linux Magazine Cool Product Award.
- AutoGraph International is demonstrating its commitment to the
Linux community through their EasyCopy suite of products.
- CoolKeyboards Corporation announced that the 'Linux Cool Keyboard'
is available from Atipa Linux Solutions.
- Essential Communications announced the availability of a Linux
driver for its PCI host bus adapter based on the High Performance
Parallel Interface (HIPPI 800) standard.
-
Fujitsu Siemens Computers presented RMS (Reliant Monitor Software)
for Linux.
-
Model Technology Inc. announced that ModelSim EE and SE will be
available for the Linux operating system in VHDL, Verilog, and mixed
HDL configurations.
-
MSC.NASTRAN is now now available for Linux. "To cater to a growing Linux-using
customer base, MSC.Software recently introduced a Linux version of the
world's most widely used finite element analysis (FEA) program --
MSC.Nastran."
- On Channel has
announced another embedded Linux distribution: OS2000. They make some
interesting claims about it, too: "ON Channel's OS2000 is the only
commercially available embedded Linux OS currently shipping to OEMs and
VARs."
-
O'Reilly & Associates published "Learning Debian/GNU Linux" by
Bill McCarty.
-
TheLinuxStore.com, a division of EBIZ Enterprises, Inc., announced
a strategic re-design and re-launch of their Internet web site
www.TheLinuxStore.com.
-
White Pine Software, Inc. announced availability for its
MeetingPoint conference server for Linux in December of this year.
-
Xi Graphics, Inc. announced support for the dual-monitor feature
of the Matrox Millenium G400 DualHead Display graphics card. The
support is available for use with Xi Graphics' Multi-head
Accelerted-X Display Server. Xi Graphics has also announced a 33%
price reduction of the Multi-head Server Version 5.
Events:
-
EarthWeb announced that IBM has become a platinum sponsor and
cornerstone partner of The Bazaar, a three day Open Source Software
conference and exhibition in New York City beginning on December 14,
1999. GNU/Linux and Apache are featured topics.
- The Linux-Mandrake folks have announced
that they will have a booth at the Linux Business Expo, being held
alongside Comdex in Las Vegas, November 15-19.
- LinuxStart.Com will be
giving away free T-Shirts at Comdex. There's also a couple of
computer giveaways. Details
- Here's a
press release from Ziff Davis about COMDEX and the Linux Business
Expo.
-
Ziff-Davis and Kaplan Career Services will host a Kaplan Hiring
Fair at COMDEX/Fall '99.
Red Hat Linux Related Releases:
-
Digi International, Inc. announced that it has joined with Red Hat
in its Developer Partnership Program.
-
Enlighten Software Solutions, Inc. announced EnlightenDSM version
3.4 will be available to support Red Hat Linux version 6.0 and version
6.1.
-
Intel Corporation will bundle the Red Hat Linux operating system
with the server platforms it markets through its recently created
Internet Service Provider programme.
-
KeyStone Learning Systems introduced a new 16-hour training course
for Red Hat Linux, available on video and CD-ROM.
-
Photodex Corporation and Red Hat, Inc. announced their partnership
to provide CompuPic Digital Content Manager software for the Red Hat
Linux operating system.
- As predicted, Red Hat has
announced commercial support for apache and sendmail, and for the
postfix mailer as well.
-
VERITAS Software Corporation and Red Hat, Inc. announced that the
Companies are collaborating to accelerate the availability of
enterprise-class VERITAS Software application storage management
solutions on Red Hat Linux.
-
WaveTech Networks Inc. chooses Red Hat Linux 6.1 for their OS
needs.
Products that also come in Linux:
-
Agilent Technologies, Inc. announced three new Fibre Channel
connectivity products that eclipse the 2 gigabit-per-second (Gb/s)
performance level.
-
Ancor Communications Inc. introduced its new SANbox series of
Fibre Channel switches.
-
Bitstream Inc. announced it is shipping Font Fusion, the company's
most advanced font rasterizing engine.
-
Centura Software Corporation announced the release of Raima
Database Manager (RDM) version 5.0. Source code is available.
-
DataDirect Networks offered access to select SAN products through
its Web site at www.datadirectnet.com.
-
Norpath, Inc. introduced Norpath Elements, the professional's
interactive authoring solution for creating powerful web-based
diagrams, animations, and simulations.
-
NVIDIA Corporation announced the Quadro workstation GPU, the
newest member of the company's family of graphics processors.
-
Object UK announced Together/J Version 3 is now available.
-
Perle Specialix announced the Speed4 and Speed4+, two 4-port PCI
host cards.
- Scriptics announced the availability of Tcl Blend and Jacl 1.2.5.
-
Sybase, Inc. announced the availability of SQL Anywhere Studio for
Workgroups.
- Synergetic Data Systems, Inc. announced the release of UnForm
v4.0.
- Zero G Software announced the availability of InstallAnywhere
Enterprise Edition.
Partnerships, Investments and Acquisitions:
-
Cobalt Networks, Inc. announced that Allegiance Telecom, Inc. has
selected the Cobalt RaQ 2 server appliance to provide dedicated Web
hosting services to Allegiance Telecom customers. The Cobalt RaQ 2
comes with Linux pre-installed.
- Ebiz Enterprises (which runs
TheLinuxStore.com) has
announced the acquisition of JustLinux.com.
-
Enlighten Software Solutions, Inc. announced that it has executed
a strategic Software Development and License Agreement with a provider
of systems management software. Pursuant to the agreement, Enlighten
will license technology to provide management for leading Linux
platforms (Red Hat, Caldera, TurboLinux).
-
GraphOn Corporation announced a deal with Minmetals Townlord
Information Technology, Inc. to distribute its "Bridges" software in
China. Bridges is intended to allow running (server-based) Linux
applications on old Windows PC's, of which China has many.
More Companies Announce Third Quarter Reports:
-
Ariel Corp.
-
Enlighten Software Solutions, Inc.
-
Insignia Solutions
-
Navarre Corporation
Other:
-
API announced it has contributed Alpha-based systems to Worcester
Polytechnic Institute (WPI) for the Pants Application Node
Transparency System (PANTS) in support of on-going Alpha Linux
development.
- MandrakeSoft has put out
a press release naming some of the high-profile commercial users
of Linux-Mandrake.
- OpenDesk.com sent in a
description of the Virtual Workspace they are providing for people at their new
site. "Organizations of any size - from local hockey teams to franchise
stores - can use this space to collaborate on projects, coordinate
schedules and build relationships. Even organizations whose members are
distributed across the globe can come together in this secure virtual
workspace."
-
Oracle plans to re-enter the network computing market by creating
a new company that will sell an alternative to the desktop PC. The
device will contain an Intel processor, run the Linux operating
system, and use the Netscape Communications Web browser.
- ProSyst Software GmbH has joined the Open Service Gateway
Initiative (OSGI).
- The
QuestionExchange announced a "name your price" support scheme,
wherein people with open source questions and answers can find each
other and work out a mutually acceptable payment for the services.
-
TrustWorks Systems announced that it is offering components of its
Trusted Security Suite as open source code.
Section Editor: Jon Corbet.
|
November 4, 1999
|