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

Linux in the news

• Open Season is an article in the May Wired about free software. "Never mind that some of these open-source-come-latelies may be trying to cover up for some misbegotten product that would never have had a prayer in the marketplace, or that they may well be aiming to exploit open-source resources without giving anything back in return. Those two little words - open source - have become a magical incantation, like portal in 1998 or push in 1997. Just whisper them and all will be yours: media attention, consumer interest, and, of course, venture capital."

  Also as part of this article: Tour de source, a table listing a number of companies working in the free software realm and showing their activities.

• Salon reviews Caldera OpenLinux 2.2, and wanders off into worrying about Linux splintering into incompatible variants. "Despite its evident power, the KDE desktop interface is still really just a veneer disguising a host of challenges lurking for the unwary user. It is all too easy to plunge into the innards of any Linux system and severely mangle the 'user friendly' shell; believe me, I know. And there's also the question of where the continuing evolution of no-brainer Linux installations is leading. The various Linux distributions continue to morph into distinctly different identities."

• Jeremy Allison pointed out this PC Week benchmark which looks at web and SMB performance. Linux still does not come off all that well, though far better then in the Mindcraft test. "Linux's performance, however, showed it needs improvement in several key areas. It was about four times slower than either NT or Solaris on file reads, which accounts for its mediocre performance. Almost all other areas of Linux's file system showed similar lackluster performance, ranging from 10 percent to four times slower than the competition. Linux did show an edge in file write operations, with performance on a par with or better than most of the competition."

• Jeremy also pointed out this other test in PC Week which used Windows NT clients. The results were different there: "When running NetBench 6.0 with Windows NT 4.0 clients, NT Server 4.0 running on an Compaq Computer Corp. ProLiant 6400R spat out a disappointing 150M bps of data throughput.... Samba running on the Penguin Computing Linux server with an NT Workstation client load dusted NT Server with 197M-bps throughput. More importantly, Samba had minimal performance degradation at higher client loads. In tests with 60 clients, Windows NT managed only 110M-bps throughput compared with 183M bps for Samba."

• ComputerWorld discusses the "Lintel reformation". "But the most compelling attribute of the little-OS-that-could isn't how it got written. It's how well it works on x86-based chips. Simply put, Linux on Intel -- which we might as well start calling 'Lintel' -- delivers about three times the price/performance ratio of any other computing platform. Lintel will run most processes three times faster than Windows NT on the same hardware, and you won't have to reboot twice a day."

• Salon Magazine has an article about Mindcraft III. "'I just don't see why this is seen as a Microsoft test,' says [Mindcraft president] Weiner."

Reviews of one type or another were popular this week:

• Network Computing has given an award to Caldera OpenLinux as the best network operating system. "Caldera, with its strong ties to Novell, has produced a product that serves as an excellent, full-featured NOS. NDS integration, Samba and the native Linux networking support make Caldara the new top dog in the NOS field."

• PC Magazine has run a review of Sun, Microsoft, and Linux web platforms. Microsoft won. "Although Apache lets you tune some parameters (such as the number of processes available to clients), to do so you must edit configuration files. In terms of ease of use, this is a far cry from the Web-based administration that Netscape offers. And that's just one example of how building a Web platform on Linux is more difficult than it is on Windows NT or Solaris." (Thanks to César A. K. Grossmann).

• MSNBC reviews the latest releases from Caldera, Red Hat, and SuSE. They like all three. "I can happily report that Open Linux 2.2's Lizard provides one of the easiest operating system install jobs I've ever had the pleasure of playing with. It requires nary a thought."

• ZDNet has run a brief review of KDE 1.1.1. "...the GUI proved similar enough to Windows for novice users, while at the same time preserving Linux's superior multi-tasking power with such Unix standards as multiple virtual desktops."

There were only a couple of introductory pieces this week:

• One is ZDNet's A to Z of Linux. Billed as "the essential Linux reference," this appears to be a general collection of brief blurbs written in a children's book style. "A is for Apache..."

• Here's a lengthy introductory piece in Group Computing Magazine. It's a positive article, but with more than the usual number of silly mistakes. "So if you're planning to upgrade your operating system, or if you're tired of your Web server crashing, this little operating system from Sweden might be just what you want for your servers." (Thanks to Michael J. Miller).

Sun's approach to Linux drew a couple of articles:

• Here's a brief MSNBC article about Sun's support of Linux applications running under Solaris. "Sun marketing manager Patrick Dorsey claims Linux applications perform well on Solaris, and says Sun can benefit from the innovation taking place on the Linux platform. Sun officials say the company is pushing Linux desktop solutions especially hard because it gives Sun a way to wreak havoc on archrival Microsoft Corp."

• And here is a lengthy article in CNN about Sun and Linux. "Sun's enthusiasm for Linux is driven by more than different ecological niches for Solaris and Linux. Sun also sees the opportunity to profit from the vitality of the Linux market. Linux developers are churning out software ranging from Web servers to package managers at a tremendous rate. If Sun makes good on its efforts to make Solaris and Linux compatible, porting this software to Solaris will be easy."

There were many business-oriented pieces, as is usual these days:

• Here's an English translation of an article in the Polish ComputerWorld about the deployment of Linux in the Sobieski Hotel in Warsaw. "Because Sobieski converted to Linux it is not running Microsoft Office as its main office suite any more. The hotel now uses a much less expensive package (StarOffice) offered by German Star Division" (Reprinted with permission, thanks to Pawel Moszumanski).

• The frenzy that has surrounded Internet stocks may soon find its way toward Linux-related companies as well, according to this Fairfax IT column. "It seems the same factors that led to an Internet gold rush among investors may be in their embryonic stages as applied to open source or Linux ventures. All the hype surrounding GNU/Linux has led to a swag of venture capitalists and market watchers promoting open source opportunities to their investing clients, and prospective start-ups."

• This ZDNet UK article speculates on what happens if Linux starts showing up in mobile devices with the ability to speak the "Bluetooth" radio connectivity protocol. "The thought of a mobile version of Linux with embedded Bluetooth is a little daunting particularly for the Microsoft camp."

• Here's a Computer Reseller News article about competition between the various Linux distributions. "Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT is the real competition, said executives at both companies. Caldera and Red Hat exhibit alongside each other at Linux expos. And next month, Ransom Love, Caldera's chief executive, is speaking at the 5th Annual Linux Expo, sponsored by Red Hat." (Found in Linux Net News).

• Intel's "Technology @Work" newsletter features Linux in this article. "Linux will get another boost in the second half of 1999, when Intel ships 8-way SMP server motherboards using the Profusion architecture. VA Research will be among the first to ship 8-way Linux servers based on the Profusion technology." (Thanks to Alexander Stohr).

• Caldera Thin Clients (the DOS side of Caldera) will be using Linux to build set-top boxes, according to this News.com article. "The use of Linux gets around licensing fees a company would have to pay to use somebody else's operating system, such as Microsoft's Windows CE..."

• Security Portal has an article about commercial security products for Linux. "The more tantalizing question is, who will be the Red Hat of Linux Security? Will established security vendors risk cannibalizing their own products lines, or will they instead spread FUD about the idea of putting corporate jewels in the hands of open source security? Will we see some new security companies challenge the old guard, riding the wave of open source security wares? Stay tuned."

• Pacific HiTech expects to do great in China, according to this Newsbytes article. "[PHT CEO} Miller estimates there are around 10 million computers in China, most running pirated copies of Microsoft's Windows operating system at present. 'I don't think its unreasonable to think within a year we could have 10 percent of the market,' he predicted."

• News.com once again reports that AOL is considering making a Linux box. "...bypassing Windows gives AOL an advantage, ensuring more control over their product, lowering the cost of the device, and improving AOL's bargaining position in dealings with Microsoft."

• In PC Week: this article about the Canadian National Railway Company's use of Linux. "...encouraged by its stability, the railroad has expanded Linux's role to include e-mail, Web and proxy servers for 3,800 users."

• Companies are not rushing out to set up Linux-based database servers, according to this PC Week article. "Linux databases are intriguing for many sites, but often not enough to take them off the back burner. Many organizations remain focused on year 2000 remediation and the continued pilgrimage to the Web."

• Nicholas Petreley has decided that commerce in the open-source world will revolve around services. "So, if the new economy is driven almost entirely by service and support, it would follow that companies will have to focus more on reliability and suitability of their software rather than features and glitz. Gosh, if that's the down side, the future is looking pretty darned good."

• Here's an article in the Triangle Business Journal which looks at the backlash to Red Hat's success. "Some Red Hat competitors and computer purists have sounded the alarm that the Durham-based company might be trying to hijack Linux."

• Here's a short piece in the Journal of Commerce (scroll to the end) which worries about commercial applications for Linux. "Don't get me wrong. I've always been a big advocate of Linux. But that was when it was the computer geek's alternative to Windows and everything was free. Even the Linux source code. Now, I fear, those days are coming to an end."

• VAR Business reports on the KDE 1.1.1 release. "Most of the top Linux vendors also are going with KDE. Caldera Systems Inc., Pacific HiTech Inc. and SuSE Inc. all ship their distributions with a KDE default. One vendor conspicuously absent from the lineup is Red Hat Software Inc., North America's Linux market leader. Its default interface is Gnome, largely because it has invested heavily in its development."

• Former Netscape CTO Eric Hahn is now on the board of directors for Red Hat, according to this brief News.com article. "Hahn was instrumental in driving Netscape's Linux support, Red Hat said, as well as the decision to release its software as open source..."

• The Red Herring covers LinuxCare's new venture capital investment. "Linuxcare now offers a Linux university for becoming educated about Linux, a fully staffed call center for assistance, professional services for operating systems and integration, and professional certification (testing and validation) of Linux software."

• Can you survive the Linux frenzy? asks Sm@rt Reseller. "Everyone from industry analysts to Linux vendors always has stressed that the real money in open-source software lies in service and support. And now, with Linux making serious inroads into the corporate marketplace, the market-share struggle between the various distributions is ceding center stage to the behemoth services organizations vying to support these meaty contracts."

• Here's a ZDNet Australia article about FreeBSD. "There are other problems that can't be ignored: FreeBSD doesn't yet run on as many hardware platforms as Linux or commercial Unix; it's limited to Intel-based servers. And, more importantly, although FreeBSD will run a number of Linux applications through emulation, it lacks support from commercial database and application software vendors."

• Linux: Think hard before getting in deep says PC Week. "The most vexing Linux problem we ran into was with the Linux kernel itself. There are countless revisions of the kernel available, and in tests we found that some Linux patches worked only with certain kernels or with specific versions of applications. This inconsistency could wreak havoc on departments trying to optimize a Linux server to run multiple applications."

• Java Zone comments on the "dark side of open source." Strange article. "When someone argues that Sun should forget its restrictions and release Java 2 as Open Source, perhaps you'll remember the lessons of Netscape and Mozilla." (Found in NNL).

• ABC News looks at the GNOME development process. "The open-source movement is a bit like the construction of the great medieval cathedrals of Europe: thousands of anonymous artisans working over time on a grand project whose entirety they may never know. That's a fair description of GNOME, the first graphical user interface for the Linux operating system." Of course, some may disagree with the use of the word "first" here... (Thanks to Damon Poole).

• Here's an article in the Times of India about localized versions of Linux which are being put together in India. "...since Linux was available free of cost and its source code was known, it became easy to make the necessary changes in the codes to create a Linux OS in Hindi and other languages." (Thanks to Ashish Shah).

• Last week's NTKnow has a couple of Linux-related articles, covering the upcoming Linux: The Way Forward gathering in London ("...Alan Cox lecturing on e-commerce (what the!?! d'y'think he'll wear a suit?)...") and Sir Clive Sinclair's possible new Linux product. "...we'll wait because the man who told [Sinclair] about Linux was reputedly Chris Bidmead, veteran tech journo and - more importantly, author of Logopolis, the Dr Who episode that killed off Tom Baker. And if he can do that for one geek hero..."

• MattsHouse asks: what if Mindcraft is right? The editorial sees such a result as an opportunity to find where the problems are and correct them.

Section Editor: Jon Corbet

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