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Linux and business


The FSF wins one. IDG has announced the winner of the "IDG/Linus Torvalds Community Award" ahead of the LinuxWorld conference this time around. The winner: the Free Software Foundation. They will get a check for $25,000, and recognition at a ceremony after Linus Torvalds' keynote on August 10.

It is a good thing that IDG/LinuxWorld is recognizing the FSF in this way. Let us hope that the rest of the conference will treat the FSF with respect as well. Last March's event left them somewhat marginalized, trying to be heard among the glitz, smoke, and lasers. Without the FSF, the LinuxWorld conference would not be happening; they deserve both this recognition and a high-profile presence at the event.

VA Linux Systems is on a roll They have announced that sales for the second quarter of this year were up 220% over the previous quarter, exceeding the 212% growth rate for Linux published by industry analyst firm International Data Corporation. They have also announced the opening of ten new sales offices, spread throughout the U.S.

It also appears, from the rumors going around, that their IPO filing will be happening in short order. The initial filing could happen, perhaps, by the end of this month.

IBM plans a large set of announcements at LinuxWorld, according to a number of sources. This was expected; there have been rumblings coming out of IBM for some time. The announcements should include a new Linux-based Netfinity server, the "official" announcement that DB2 is generally available, and a partnership with SAP to bring their high-end "R/3" ERP package to Linux. IBM seems to be truly interested in our favorite system; it is going to be interesting to watch where they try to go with it.

HP is not standing still either. It has announced that its OpenMail messaging system will run on Linux. A freely-downloadable beta version is available now; the full product is expected to be released in September. OpenMail is a big-deal product, used by millions of people in many large corporations. The availability of OpenMail provides another opportunity for Linux systems in "enterprise" environments.

Linux and the European server market. IDC has issued a release containing some of their predictions for the server market in Europe. They had some nice things to say. "Linux is expected to become a viable alternative to current operating systems in many user environments. Even if it is not yet fully standardized and represents only a small proportion of server sales, its positioning as a free source code product heralds a whole new business model for the server market."

Hardware Products:

The first software modem for Linux. PC-TEL has announced the availability of its software modem for Linux. Software modems work by shifting most of the signal processing work to the host system CPU. While such an arrangement is not suitable for a lot of systems, there can be advantages to this mode of operation. Companies building low-end Linux systems, for example, will certainly be pleased to have a less expensive modem available. Having that sort of signal processing capability available can, in the longer term, lead to any of a number of interesting telephony applications; whether that will happen with this particular modem depends on how open PC-TEL is with their driver software. There is, unfortunately, no indication in their press release that source will be made available.

Alpha Processor, Inc. and The Linux Store announced an agreement to offer API's next-generation motherboards based on Alpha processors through The Linux Store's e-commerce storefront.

Perhaps to make room for all those fast, new Alpha systems, The Linux Store is "giving away" the last of their huge pile of 166 MHz Multia systems. $29.50 for shipping will get you one. These are "bare bones" systems, so expect to have to invest more, in both time and money, before you have something that actually works...

A new Linux systems VAR. Cumetrix Data Systems Corp. announced that it is selling consumer and business computers that are pre-configured with the Red Hat Linux operating system. They are aiming at the low end, with their cheapest system starting at $399.

Software Products:

Enhanced Software Technologies, Inc., the developer of the BRU Backup & Restore Utility for Linux systems, announced the release of BRU 15.1. The most significant enhancement to BRU 15.1 is the release of CRU (Crash Recovery Utility) for Linux under an open source license.

Game maker Epic announced that the Linux port of Unreal Tournament is complete and in working condition. It's expected that Epic will include this free with UT upon it's release, on a second CD. Linux is the most popular operating system for game server administrators, and with both a Linux client and server port for Unreal Tournament, it's poised to become a major player in the online gaming community.

Press Releases:

  • Andover.Net announced the launch of a new e-Tool, HTMLWorks.

  • Excalibur Technologies Corporation announced Excalibur RetrievalWare 6.7, which, for the first time, supports Linux.

  • Fischer International announced the release of its new TAO Internet Messaging server.

  • InternetWeek, announced the debut of its InternetWeek Online Resource Centers, one of which is for Linux.

  • LINMOR Technologies announced version 5.5 of its web-based performance management system, NEBULA Performance Monitor (PM). The Data Collector portion of NEBULA PM 5.5 is available on the Linux platform.

  • The MathWorks, Inc. announced a new Student Version of MATLAB which is available on Linux.

  • Netcop Software announced the introduction of @Netcop.com, a secure web-based email service which runs on Linux.

  • ParaSoft announced that they will be exhibiting at LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in San Jose.

  • Penguin Computing announced that it will become the first Linux company to offer a full line of computers backed up by the new Ecrix VXA-1 tape drives.

  • Penguin Computing has joined the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES).

  • Red Hat, Inc. named Thomas V. Butta Chief Marketing Officer (CMO).

  • Siemens Computer Systems has extended its commitment to the Linux operating system by porting two of its enterprise software management products - openUTM and openFT - to Linux.

  • SSH Communications Security, Inc. announced the additions of Rodney Thayer, director of technology and Anne Carasik, consulting engineer. They also announced the release of Carasik's new book on network security, "Using Secure Shell," published by McGraw-Hill.

  • VERITAS Software Corporation announced a "backup support initiative" for Linux.

  • Vovida Networks announced the availability of another free commercial release of source code running on the Linux operating system - H.323 Annex F.

  • Workfire.com, Inc. announced a demo of its Genetic Caching technology, which will be available for Linux.

  • X.Org announced the successful completion of an arrangement with Metro Link, Inc., of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., as the official X.Org development partner. As part of this arrangement, Metro Link, Inc., will provide specific services to the X.Org member companies, and the general public as a whole.

Section Editor: Rebecca Sobol.


August 5, 1999

 

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