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

Linux in the news

Linux installation reports appear to be popular. This report, from Josh Quittner, also appears in this week's print edition of Time Magazine. He ended up trying out the new telephone support that comes with the most expensive version of Red Hat Linux 6.0. "Installing Linux was not exactly a walk through hell, but there was no way I could have done it without help -- another reason to pay for something you can get free ... with Thor on the phone calling the shots, I was able to install Red Hat in about 90 minutes." (Thanks to Dr. Glenn Butcher).

Here's one of those 'Linux is hard to install' stories, this one in ComputerWorld. "Ultimately, giving Linux the time of day is worthwhile. It's up and coming, and it's better to wrestle it down to the ground now than to be overwhelmed by it later if it becomes an imperative you're not prepared for."

Computer Currents covers the creation of Zenguin out of the core of the old SuSE U.S. operation, and talks about Zenguin's "installer" product. "[Zenguin President] McNeil predicts Zenguin's cross-distribution installer will dramatically increase the number of Linux end-user applications."

ComputerWorld ran a survey and uncovered that interest in Linux is increasing. "Although most information technology managers remain aloof to Linux, the free, Unix-like operating system is rapidly gaining enough credibility to merit a look from users at major companies, according to a Computerworld tracking survey. Since February, the number that report either using or at least considering Linux has grown by 72%."

Network World Fusion put out a Linux vs. NT article. "NT's ability to host Microsoft's electronic commerce wares and transaction integrity products, such as Transaction Server and Message Queue Server, (which to date have no counterparts in the Linux world), make NT the clear choice for enterprise use." (NW Fusion is a registration-required site. The "cypherpunks" account works as usual).

InfoWorld compares Caldera OpenLinux 2.2 and Red Hat Linux 6.0. "Although both releases are second-generation products, despite their improvements, neither Red Hat nor Caldera is completely ready for the enterprise or the corporate desktop."

Here's an InfoWorld story about Novell's unveiling of NDS for Linux. "NDS for Linux, which is based on the recently released NDS 8, enables management of Linux workstations and servers, and integration of Linux resources with NetWare, Windows NT, and Sunsoft Solaris systems..."

EE Times ran an article about Compaq's new Alpha-based servers. "The server underscores Compaq's new commitment to Linux, offering support for Red-Hat Linux as well as versions from Germany's S.u.S.E. GmbH and the New York-based Debian Project."

A group called the "Linux Liste" is running for seats in the Austrian national student council. They appear to be pushing a pretty hard-line open source policy. More can be had at their web site (in German). An English translation of sorts can be found at Babelfish. (Thanks to Alexander List).

The Saint Louis Business Journal ran an introductory article with an emphasis on Linux use in Saint Louis. "After serving a few printers at the Edwardsville headquarters of Cassens Transport Co., Linux now runs on more than 40 computers there, at a savings of at least $242,000."

News.com reports on SGI's increased support for Linux. "SGI executives have said in the past that releasing technology to the open-source community isn't like giving away the crown jewels. Instead, the company hopes it will lead people to develop computer systems more like SGI's, helping popularize technology where SGI has expertise and a competitive advantage."

Bob Metcalfe, inventer of ethernet, predicts that open source will fail. "He said the open source movement will fizzle because it is 'idealistic,' by which he said he meant counter to capitalism, intellectual property, and other things 'that work.'" Of course, this is the guy who predicted the widespread collapse of the Internet a couple of years ago...

Computer Magazine ran a followup to the critical 'Open Source Acid Test' article of a few months ago. This one is a bit more aware, but still comes from a critical viewpoint. "I will always bet on 650 well-paid Microsoft engineers (with stock options at risk) over 1,200 part-time volunteers, whether or not they are working on the kernel or the whole shooting match."

Here's a brief InfoWorld story about Progress's announcement that it will be porting its database system to Linux. "Progress ISV and corporate developers have a combined total of 5,000 applications that could be ported over to Linux. The company's ISVs deploy about $1.5 billion per year in Progress-based applications, according to company officials." (Thanks to Richard Storey).

Here's a TechWeek story about training, certification, and other Linux issues. "Linux has made great strides in penetrating the corporate market. But a big stumbling block is the lack of training and certification programs for Linux professionals, especially for system and network administrators." (Thanks to Dan York).

CPU Review reviews Red Hat 6.0. The review is lengthy, detailed, and almost entirely positive.

Here's an article (in Spanish) in El Pais about the continued success of Linux. "Linux does not seem to be one of the ephemeral fashions that periodically cross the world of computer science." English translation available via Babelfish. (Thanks to Jordi Torn ).

32BitsOnline interviews LinuxCare's David Sifry. "The potential for Linux to become as ubiquitous as TCP/IP is a really groundshaking notion, when you start to think about all the implications involved."

Here's another Linux vs NT comparison. This one is in Wired's Webmonkey, and consists mostly of quotes from people running web sites on one system or the other. "NT owners were notably less enthusiastic about its reliability but pointed out that on a larger site, a load balancing device such as Cisco LocalDirector can hide downtime by sending traffic to other servers while one reboots. Several managers said the more frequent reboots were an acceptable cost compared to, say, hiring pricey Unix admins." (Found in NNL).

InfoWorld ran a quick performance test of Caldera OpenLinux and Windows NT, looking at file and print sharing. "Unlike artificial workloads, our benchmark uses real applications running realistic user activities to measure the overall performance of the network system... Based on our observation of the server, NT would have been more comparable to Red Hat if it did not have to handle printing duties in addition to file serving. Where Red Hat swallowed print jobs as fast as they came, the queue grew longer and longer under NT during the course of the test, distracting the server from file sharing." (Found in NNL).

There is a lengthy story about Red Hat in the Spectator Online. It has some factual problems, such as repeated references to Linux as "shareware." "Known affectionately as 'penguin heads,' Linux users now number 10 million..." (Found in NNL).

Linux 2.2 Gives NT a Run for Its Money--for Free is the title of a lengthy, detailed article in PC Magazine. It's quite positive, for the most part. Some of the criticisms come in somewhat surprising areas - they say that PCMCIA support is "poor," for example. "We'll start with a look at the major enhancements to the new kernel (that is, the core OS components). Then we'll examine the Internet and networking features in 2.2, along with a related discussion of file system changes and additions. A brief comparison with Windows NT runs throughout the sections, to show you how the two systems stack up." (Thanks to Cesar A. K. Grossmann).

Government Computer News interviews Red Hat's Bob Young. "When I first got into Linux in 1992, I was convinced it was going to make the Unix balkanization look like a big, happy family. In fact, the reverse has happened." (Thanks to RC Pavlicek).

Developers for the Sony Playstation will work under Linux, according to this Wired News story. "Sony will begin shipping the development workstation in September, said Phil Harrison, Sony's vice president of research and development. The machine, to be priced under US$20,000, will be based on the same chipset as the PlayStation II, including the 128-bit 'Emotion Engine' and graphic chips." (Thanks to Richard Storey).

The Guardian reports briefly on Sir Clive Sinclair's thinking about creating a Linux computer. "A generation of games programmers cut their teeth on the Sinclair Spectrum. If he doesn't go for Linux, others will. Indeed, why doesn't the internet community devise its own specifications for such a computer just as it has for Linux?"

Sm@rt Reseller writes about a number of upcoming commercial announcements. "Also next week, the Linux.com enterprise portal site, led by systems vendor VA Research Inc., will open, said officials of the Lake Tahoe, Calif., company. VA will make the announcement at LinuxWorld [sic - they meant Linux Expo], in Raleigh, N.C." Actually, Linux Expo will likely produce quite the flood of announcements. (Thanks to Jay R. Ashworth).

Networking companies aren't much interested in supporting Linux, according to this TechWeb story. "Networking vendor managers said, however, that there is a lot of interest in Linux, particularly by the investment community. In fact, if Red Hat Software Inc. announces its much anticipated initial public offering, a few of the managers at the Nortel booth said they'd love to get their hands on the stock."

MSNBC is carrying this Wall Street Journal article about SGI's (and others') embrace of Linux. "[SGI] is expected to say Linux will be its single Unix-like offering for all future machines based on Intel Corp. microprocessors. Silicon Graphics had planned on providing its proprietary version of Unix, known as Irix, on its growing Intel line. To the extent that Irix has features that are still lacking in Linux, the company is expected to work to add them to Linux." (Thanks to Steven Filling, who originally pointed out this article).

Here's a brief article in Norwegian in Aftenposten about HP and SGI getting into Linux. (Thanks to Pal G. Larsson, who also reports that an ad for an IBM server with Linux installed appeared on the front page of the paper version of Aftenposten on the same day).

Dave Winer has given up his Linux virginity. So now he is so enthused that he has created his own "Linux Newbies" mailing list to further discuss his experiences. "[Linux is] rapidly becoming the serverside of the worldwide web, my middle-aged love. I believe Linux is key to building network apps that can scale to millions of users."

Linux: smooth operator in small-office environment says the (Canadian) Globe and Mail. "Much of the media buzz touts that Linux may be what finally breaks the stranglehold that Microsoft has on the desktop with its Windows 95/98 operating systems. That may or may not be the case. But having just installed Caldera OpenLinux 2.2, I am stunned by the degree of user-friendliness in the program."

Test & Measurement World has run an introductory article from an engineering perspective. "Some of the very things engineers perceive as assets, managers see as liabilities; for example, accountability and support. After all, if the software is free, who takes responsibility for it? And then there's the customizing issue-how can an IT manager track maverick Linux users?" (Thanks to August Hoerandl).

News.com reports on Sun's support for Linux binaries. "The move illustrates the upheaval that Linux, a Unix-like operating system, is causing as it grows from a hobbyists' project to a force that major server makers are reckoning with."

Section Editor: Jon Corbet

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