Excellent day for all Linux issues:
Coalition says Linux ready for upcoming Intel chip
NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Shares of Linux companies surged on Wednesday after a coalition of companies developing a version of the up-and-coming software system to run on Intel Corp.'s <INTC.O> next-generation microprocessor line said they were ready to release the software to developers at large.
Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux operating system, also said a new version of the software will be released by midyear. The new software, Linux 2.4, is still in development and would be available in the summer, he said at the LinuxWorld Conference here.
VA Linux <LNUX.O> stock posted the strongest gains, jumping 29 to 136-7/8, up more than 26 percent on the day, following the announcement at a Linux trade show taking place here this week.
Shares of Red Hat Inc. <RHAT.O>, the best known distributor of Linux closed up 15-1/2 to 108, while Andover.net <ANDN.O> added 7-1/8 to 36. All three stocks trade on the Nasdaq stock market.
At a joint press conference here, a virtual who's who of Linux distributors and key computer industry backers taking part in the so-called Trillian project said they had released the programming source code required to create Linux software ready to run on Intel's IA-64 chip due out later this year.
"As Linux becomes mainstream we are seeing major commercial companies working together in the open source environment, " Ron Curry, Intel's director of marketing for the IA-64 chip.
The Trillian Project was formed last spring to ready the Linux operating system to run on Intel-64 chips, which are scheduled to become available in the third quarter of this year.
Participants include VA Linux, Red Hat's Cygnus unit, and three other Linux distributors -- Caldera, SuSE and TurboLinux. Other backers include CERN, the European physics research lab, and computer industry heavyweights Hewlett Packard Co. <HWP.N>, IBM <IBM.N> and SGI <SGI.N>.
The effort marks the broadest undertaking by the computer industry to transform Linux into a software system capable of running key business operations. To date, Linux has largely found favor on computers used to manage Internet Web sites.
The operating system source code is publicly available at kernel.org, in line with the common practice of the Linux software movement, which openly publishes all technical innovations in a bid to speed adoption of new features.
Trillian Project backers are seeking to woo software developers in the broader industry to embrace Linux, which is seen as an alternative to the upcoming version of Microsoft Windows 2000, a version of which is also being fine-tuned to run on Intel's faster generation of IA-64 processors.
Microsoft "is making excellent progress as well," said Curry, referring to the dominant operating system developer's efforts around the Intel Itanium processor.
The project is a break with the anarchic tradition of Linux software development in the past, which has relied on a loose-knit fraternity of software programmers to develop features for the system.
"In some regard, this is a new environment for the open source movement," Curry said. "It is also catching up to how other software companies develop their product."
Instead, Trillian involves Linux developers in the actual development of the new Intel chip, allowing participants some sway in defining final products and thereby allowing new Linux versions to be ready at the same time IA-64 chips ship.
"We are going to have the software out there as soon as the processors hit the street," Sridhar Chilukur, director of busies development for VA Linux.
The software distributors said they will develop Linux products that will be used in manufacturing, research, and Internet markets.
Torvalds said he was excited about the Trillian project, and that while he did not understand the current stock market, he understood investors' interest in Linux.
"Investors see something new, something changing the infrastructure and how it works, and that's exciting," he said.
21:00 02-02-00 |
