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

Linux in the news

• Network Computing has put out another one of those 'Is Linux ready for the enterprise?' articles. This one, however, is lengthy, reasonably well researched, and mostly positive. "Our findings? Not only is Linux ready for the enterprise, it currently occupies the enterprise--but not in the manner you might expect. Linux is not powering Oracle databases yet. It doesn't drive the financial services, and it usually doesn't sit at the heart of all system deployments. Instead Linux currently serves as the Swiss Army knife of networking." Worth a read. (Thanks to Mike Gerdts).

• Northwest Airlines is using Linux to run its new generation of flight simulators, according to this ComputerWorld story. "The Minneapolis company auditioned several vendors last year. Systems based on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows NT and IBM's AIX Unix were proposed, but [Northwest engineer] Aguglia and colleague Duane Sebens of Northwest's Hardware Engineering unit vouched for Linux as a choice capable of competing with more mainstream commercial operating systems."

• Lies, Damn Lies, and Benchmarks is the title of a Network Computing column trashing the Mindcraft report. "On Mindcraft's Web site, you'll find articles insisting that the company can't understand why the Linux community and others went ballistic upon learning that the tests were paid for by Microsoft and performed in its labs. The word clueless comes to mind. Mindcraft is now locked in a battle it can't win. The company is trying to save its name, but it's already lost on that point."

• The Washington Business Journal has run an article about free software with an emphasis on Zope. "'Zope is an excellent product, but its market niche is dominated by big players with deep pockets,' said Hadar Pedhazur, a principal in VIG who is also chairman of Digital Creations' board of directors. 'We couldn't outspend those companies. Going open source was a way of showing the world what the company can do in terms of innovation and ideas.'"

• Nicholas Petreley reviews Red Hat 6.0 on LinuxWorld. "I swear -- the people who created and customize[d] Enlightenment must be vampires. I've never seen so many dark, depressing color schemes, seemingly designed to make the text on the screen nearly indecipherable."

The Linux Expo got it's share of press coverage-

• Tech Sightings wandered the Linux Expo exhibition floor and was not entirely impressed. "The forlorn groups hidden away back on poverty row were Linux when Linux wasn't cool, and they, along with many other similar little bands, are why Linux is popular enough to attract IBM today. But every year, there are fewer non-profits at major Linux shows like Linux Expo."

• The (Raleigh) News & Observer ran this article about Linux Expo. Included is a nice picture of Jon Hall at the hot sauce challenge. "Some Linux companies declined to come to the Expo at all because of Red Hat's involvement. While listed as a platinum sponsor along with the German Linux distributor, S.u.S.E. Linux, and IBM, Red Hat also pays the salaries of the Linux Expo staff."

  See also this brief article about how Linux is tempting new users. "...more and more of us, as we upgrade to new machines, are going to start putting Linux on our older PCs to give it a trial run. Something tells me the Linux market hasn't even begun to take off."

Pacific HiTech has been in the news this week-

• Pacific HiTech is changing its name to TurboLinux, according to this News.com article. "'The company has grown out of its Pacific Rim roots,' said Lonn Johnston, vice president of TurboLinux operations in North America. 'We have larger plans and ambitions.'"

• InfoWorld covers the IBM/Pacific HiTech deal. "Terms of the agreement go beyond bundling DB2 and include optimized TurboLinux versions of IBM's WebSphere and other middleware products, which will be developed at a so-called virtual development lab."

Here are some articles about Linux in the business world-

• Network Computing reviews several web cache products. "Squid 2.0, a freeware solution, received our Editor's Choice award for its very flexible configuration, reasonable management utilities and superior performance." (Thanks to Michael Gerdts).

• Upside Today has an article about VA Linux Systems. "...as I surveyed the passing nameplates--Leonard Zubkoff, San Mehat, Mark Vojkovich, Geoff 'Mandrake' Harrison each a worthy banner recipient in the rafters of American Linux--it hit me that these names had marquee value. Each name represented a personal endorsement." (Thanks to "Chile Stew").

• The Australian Financial Review has an article about how IBM is adding the ability to run Linux applications to AIX. "'They're doing it in case one of the (Linux) developers comes up with a killer application,' said Bill Peterson, an analyst at Framingham, Massachusetts-based research firm International Data Corp." They also mention the TurboLinux/DB2 deal.

• CNN has an article about SGI opening up XFS. "So far, there are 24 flavors of Linux, none of which currently offer a journal file system, as opposed to all of the Unix vendors and Microsoft Corp., which do. According to analysts, the software is crucial for Linux in order to enter the corporate world, where reliability and 24-hour service are required."

• Computer Reseller News ran a brief article about SGI's plans to make their XFS file system available. "Silicon Graphics said its delay in offering Linux solutions has to do with operating-system limitations affecting the company's core technical computing base..."

• Here's a TechWeb article about the increasing number of Linux applications. "BEA Systems Inc. will offer a version of its Tuxedo distributed transaction processing software and WebLogic application server for Red Hat Linux 5.2. The move underscores how the Linux operating system is gaining mindshare in IT organizations."

• ComputerWorld covers the increasing number of development tools available for Linux. "A torrent of commercial application development tools is becoming available for Linux. But users said they aren't yet convinced that elaborate enterprise applications belong on the platform. And they said free tools fit the bill for smaller jobs."

• Wired News has an article about the 1 million WordPerfect downloads. "Corel, based in Ottawa, Canada, said that the number of downloads may be a sign of the growing use of Linux as a desktop environment." There are also notes about O'Reilly freeing up the Open Sources book, and about Atipa Linux Solutions, which is selling systems with VMWare installed.

• Here is an introductory article in Beyond Computing Magazine. "Open source is an attempt to set a new business model, one that would be more likely than the free software movement to attract a wide community of users. So far, open source has been very effective, enabling the creation of several successful open source products and businesses." (Thanks to David Andrews).

More on benchmarks-

• Here is a rather scornful article in WinInfo about the various "Linux vs. NT" benchmarks out there. "The controversial Mindcraft study--which showed Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 outperforming UNIX clone Linux by a wide margin--has been corroborated by PC Week and PC Magazine, which published the results of their own tests this week. And despite widespread disdain for the test within the Linux community, top Linux figures refuse to take place in a retest. It all adds up to an obvious conclusion: The truth is out there."

  There is actually a followup column by the same author, written after he had a conversation with Jeremy Allison. "...I've always said that Linux represents the most obvious threat to the Windows monopoly that's ever existed. I stand by that claim today, for both the desktop and the server." (Thanks to Paul Hewitt).

There are a variety of articles along the lines of Linux vs. Microsoft-

• Microsoft's "Linux evaluation" team is the subject of this article on Yahoo's UK site. "Microsoft remarks about Linux have become more pointed since August, when an internal memo suggested that it had reached a quality comparable to commercial software. Chairman Bill Gates, for example, recently characterised Linux as useful only for specialised computers." (Thanks to Bill Bond).

• Here's a News.com article about Microsoft's new "evaluation team" for Linux. "Though Linux has its fans and detractors, it's hard to deny that the Unix-like operating system is changing the computer landscape." (Thanks to Conrad Sanderson).

• Micosoft's plans for responding to Linux are the focus of this ZDNet article. "'When a competitor reaches a certain threshold, Microsoft starts to pay attention,' says Tony Iams, an analyst with D.H. Brown, a Port Chester, N.Y., consulting group. 'Linux has clearly reached that point.'"

and finally-

• ZDNet has run an article by Evan Liebovitch about Red Hat's price increase. "The Red Hat price boost is also helping the other Linux distributions, since it's causing Red Hat users to consider alternatives."

• Inter@ctive Week covers the linux.com debut. "Linux.com made its debut at 8 p.m. Tuesday and had 100,000 visitors in its first 30 minutes of existence..."

• The LA Weekly has a long article about Eric Raymond. "In the last year, this boyish-looking, unemployed 40-year-old who lives in a small Pennsylvania town has become, arguably, the most important voice in an exploding movement among businesses and engineers." (Thanks to Declan Malone).

• The BBC has an article about GNOME, including some dialog with Miguel De Icaza. "I don't think KDE has a future at this point, it's not completely free yet and it's bound to a single programming language in Unix." There is also some discussion of Richard Stallman and Tim O'Reilly. (Thanks to Alistair J Gunn).

• This week's UK Computing Magazine has a number of references to Linux, forwarded to us by David Killick:
  • Gnome paints a new face for desktop Linux
  • Novell goes native with Linux NDS
  • Sun helps Linux to run on Solaris
  • Linux takes a bite out of Apple
  • HP uses open source license for latest software technology

Section Editor: Rebecca Sobol

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