See also: last week's Commerce page.

Linux and business

Both Applix and Corel have since dropped back down somewhat, as reality began to set in. Both remain well above their previous values, though. Interestingly, some of the press coverage pointed at Sun's acquisition of StarDivision as the reason for the retreat. If that is true, it undermines the whole notion of efficient markets - Sun's plans have been known for some time. It seems much more likely that people began to think that things had gone too far and it was time to take some profits.

Expect to see more of this kind of activity, at least as long as the stock markets remain "exuberant" and Linux continues to grow. The masses have discovered Linux, and the consequences are just beginning to unfold.

Watch the game on LWN's Linux Stocks Page, which has just been upgraded to the beta test version. Sun has been added to the list, and a couple other stocks have been bumped up into the first tier. The Linux Stock Index has been reworked to use a better algorithm. The index is also now available via a "back end" interface for those who would like to display it on their own web pages.

We are still looking for feedback on how to improve this page; please have a look and let us know how we can make it better.

Version 1.0 of the Uniform Driver Interface (UDI) has been announced. UDI, remember, is the standard that is supposed to make it possible to write device drivers which are portable across a wide range of systems. The backers of UDI have, in the past, expressed hopes that the Linux community would produce a pile of UDI drivers which would then work on other systems as well. Enthusiasm among Linux developers has been relatively low, strangely enough. It will be interesting to see if they renew the push now that they have their full specification out there.

New e-smith release. e-smith has announced Version 3.0 of their e-smith server and gateway software product/distribution. Now based on Red Hat Linux 6.0, they've added support for DHCP, Dynamic DNS, LDAP and a new feature they call "Information bays" or "Ibays". "Ibays are easy-to-create, distinct sites on the e-smith hard disk that allow your e-smith server and gateway to host such things as an intranet, customer-specific web site, file download site or company shared file directory."

Press Releases:

• Advanced Management Solutions announced the availability of its "AMS Realtime" project management software for Linux.

• Andover.net announced its new site Techmailings.com, which is a large directory of mailing lists related to Linux (and more).

• Applied Information Systems announced that it has begun the general release of XESS 4.1, a spreadsheet and related development tools that works on Linux systems.

• Business Logic Corporation announced Version 4.2 of the (commercial) Xess spreadsheet for Linux.

• Covalent Technologies, Inc. announced the release of their SDI-2000 web encryption server appliance.

• Cygnus announced version 2.0 of its GNUPro Dev Kit toolkit for Linux.

• CynApps announced it is making Cynlib, its C++ hardware description library, freely available through an open-source licensing program.

• EBIZ Enterprises, Inc. obtained financing to facilitate growth of their operation, particularly the Linux based manufacturing division.

• HELIOS Software GmbH announced the update of their EtherShare OPI, PDF Handshake, and Print Preview products.

• Hewlett-Packard Company announced the Linux based HP Entria thin-client appliance family.

• HICOMP Software Systems Inc. announced that its HIBACK backup software is now available for Linux.

• IDG World Expo announced a new, comprehensive Web site at www.idgworldexpo.com. Events profiled on the site include the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo.

• Innovative Electronics, Inc. has been awarded a contract by The Dunlap Company to provide them with the Red Hat Linux-based StoreComm2000 Retail Store Management System.

• Intel Corp. announced it is now shipping engineering samples of it's Merced chip to computer makers for testing.

• Michael Kofler announced that version 2 of his book, "Linux -- Installation, Configuration, Use", published by Addison Wesley, is now available.

• LINMOR Inc. announced increased first quarter revenues. One of their new product achievements was the release of NEBULA for Linux.

• LinuxForce Inc. announced that they have installed a Linux Web server at the Franklin Institute Science Museum.

• LinuxOne announced a deal with MandrakeSoft to open a development center in Bejing. LinuxOne will be on working on things like a Chinese version of the Linux-Mandrake distribution.

• LivePage Corporation introduced Version 3.0 of LivePage Enterprise. Linux Versions of LivePage ContentServer LivePage Enterprise 3.0 will enable deployment of the LivePage ContentServer on Linux.

• Luminex Software Inc. announced that it has added Linux support to its CD and DVD Library management and recording software.

• Maxoptix Corporation announced the addition of a new series of multifunction Magneto-Optical (MO) jukeboxes. Linux support is included.

• Microworkz.com, manufacturers of the Linux based iToaster, announced that new management will take over by November 1, 1999.

• Motorola will be using a cluster system built by Atipa Linux Solutions in developing next generation semiconductor devices.

• Mylex Corporation announced that SGI has incorporated Mylex's AcceleRAID 250 controller into its servers.

• Network Engines, Inc. announced they will supply technology to IBM's Netfinity server line.

• Nathan Casey of Halton City, Texas won a Penquin Computer in a giveaway sponsered by Penguin Computing and Linux Online.

• PolyServe announced Understudy, a high-availability server clustering software suite for e-business.

• Rave Computer Association, Inc. announced the Rave Systems AXi family will be demonstrated at the upcoming Embedded Systems Conference.

• Tripp Lite, a manufacturer of power protection products, announced it will soon make the source code of its PowerAlert Universal UPS Management Software available to Linux developers.

• UniBar, Inc. announced BARCODE 2000 Version 4/JAVA, server-based label printing software for applications running under UNIX, LINUX, and Windows NT systems.

• Vovida Networks announced the free commercial release of Session Initiation Protocol source code running on the Linux operating system.

• Wave Technologies International, Inc. announced record first quarter revenues. The launch of Linux training solutions is listed as one of their key growth initatives.

• Coletta and Craig Witherspoon have a new book, "Red Hat Linux 6 fast & easy", published by Prima Tech.

Section Editor: Jon Corbet.

Next: Announcements