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

Linux in the news

• Bob Metcalfe apologizes for fanning flames with comments about the 'Open Sores Inititive', but he writes W2K will still beat Linux. "Nicholas Petreley routinely defends underdog OSes. He responded to my Linux/OSI attack last week. Petreley trusts me to change my mind about Linux if facts warrant. He knows that deep down, I'm rooting for Linux, or any OSnic group that gives Microsoft a run for its money, especially after next year's antitrust breakup."

• Then there's another point of view. "The Unix vs. NT war is getting old!", says this OS Opinion article. "The NT rage is just that, a fad for eager-beaver CIO's and others with purchasing power to flaunt their obvious lack of knowledge. 'Gee, Dick over in ABCD, Inc. has migrated from Unix to NT and has no regrets, so I guess I should, too. After all, I run this show, not the serf SYSADMINs down in the basement.'"

• A comparison of Linux and BSD systems from Daemon News provides a well-balanced look, from the BSD perspective, as to how Linux and BSD systems support and interact with each other. "The symbiotic relationship between Linux and the BSDs is one that is not acknowledged or discussed often enough." [Thanks to Joe Orton]

• An opinion piece published by LinuxToday comments on the relationship between the Linux community and the Linux industry. "What is necessary is that the Linux community grow the Linux industry in an organic form, like a vine producing leaves and berries."

More Linux - Microsoft comparisons and more differing viewpoints:

• Yet another group has stepped into the NT vs Linux testing circle. Mary Jo Foley from Smart Reseller reports that a third-party testing lab run by Neal Nelson & Associates is planning a suite of tests for September. Although this benchmark, as well, is open for participation from Microsoft and the open-source community, opinion appears to be mixed on whether or not Microsoft will be willing to participate in these tests. "A Microsoft spokesman, meanwhile, claimed the company has no plans to participate on the panel or the benchmarking tests itself." [Brigitta Shore]

• And speaking of the Mindcraft benchmarks that have already been done, Segfault has an amusing, is slightly vituperous response. "Finally, you declare victory. You have conclusively shown that NT is the vastly superior platform for doing nothing of consequence at absolutely obscene prices. With the all good conscience, you can now send out a Press Release to the world that proudly states: NT Does Nothing Better Than Linux".

• More Benchmarks? This ZDnet article doesn't think they're needed. " ..some open source companies say they are gun-shy to be part of yet another benchmark--or, as some call it, benchmarketing--exercise."

• Does Intel walk a tightrope between Microsoft and Linux? That's the focus of this E-Commerce Times article. "Anand Chandrasekher, Intel's workstation products division general manager, told the Associated Press Tuesday that Intel's continued commitment to Microsoft doesn't undermine Intel's relationship with Linux users."

• This osOpinion editorial compares Windows and Linux from a programmers perspective. "If [I had] to choose an OS for an airplane, I'd program in Linux. If I had to write a program for a clueless user, I would choose Windows."

Business news:

• The Internet nurtures Linux proclaims CNN in this article reporting back from the Open Source Forum in Texas. "'We want to manage the cost of desktop operations and increase stability,' says Gene Dickamore, business systems manager for Arup Labs, a medical reference laboratory. 'I'm seeing major changes in how you develop software, and this open-source OS may be real.'"

  In this older CNN article, Competition keeps Linux lean, which we seemed to have missed when it first came out, author Joe Barr talks about the positive side of the "bickering" some people see in the Linux community: competition and the advantages that competition brings. "Name a topic and it's up for debate. That's just the way it is. Linux people have opinions of their own and they aren't known for being shy about expressing themselves. Which can get a little disheartening if you worry, as many do, about not presenting a united front against the forces of the Windows juggernaut.

  But it's only disheartening until you understand that the noise you're hearing in these debates is the victory bell, the secret sauce, the very reason Linux is gaining on (and in some cases, overtaking) that once invincible, still heavily entrenched, but now no longer cool OS from Redmond. It's called competition. [for both articles, thanks to John Caulfeild]

• "Linux is at least getting a second look", according to this PC World article. "The need to increase Internet operations is making Linux attractive to some companies because of its low cost, stability, and easy modification, says Ransom Love, president and chief executive officer of Caldera Systems, which distributes Linux."

• Red Herring did not give Red Hat Software an award for best private company. "Finally, we balked. Our top private company must be more than the leading representative of an important trend. It must also have a business model that could make its investors rich."

• More companies offer support for Linux applications, says this CNN article. "While HP and IBM are promising to support their Linux-compatible offerings, other companies are making support a key piece of their products. Linux distribution companies including Red Hat Software, SuSE, and Caldera, package, install, and support Linux. Meanwhile, others, like Linuxcare, avoid distribution and concentrate solely on providing service and support to Linux users."

and finally:

• CNN has an introductory article about setting up secure Linux systems. "While advanced security can be difficult to implement, a great deal can be achieved by taking the simple steps of knowing what you're running and disabling services you aren't sure about. Even small sites and single Linux systems can take steps to reduce the risk and harden their security protection."

• This story from The Register looks at an MS press piece on ZDNet and wonders if it's for real. Not because of what it says, but rather because of the comments it generated. "... humorously, down in the Talkback discussion section at the bottom of the ZD story, waves of apparently ordinary users are denouncing Microsoft; you have to get quite a way down the list before you get to a plaintive suggestion that maybe the story is on the receiving end of a coordinated attack by Linux hit-teams."
  (Thanks to Ted Ede)

• Darren Remington has a new web site called Darren's Penguin Habitat. The site will contain articles about Linux. The first offering is introductory, meant for people who don't know much more about Linux than the name. "Is Linux relevant? Unless you have been a techno-ostrich with your head in the cybersand, you have probably heard the term Linux (rhymes with cynics.)"

• PC World calls Linux the 'Most promising software newcomer'.

• An introductory article on Linux appeared in Germany's Econy magazine (in German). [Lenz Grimmer]

Section Editor: Rebecca Sobol

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