>> $2.4M blk. hallucination? ... only The Shadow knows....
****************************************************************************************
Intel, IBM, Others to Open Lab for Linux Software
(Update3) 8/30/00 1:19:00 PM
Source: Bloomberg News
Portland, Oregon, Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. said they and other companies will open a lab to help develop electronic-commerce software that runs on the Linux operating system.
Intel, IBM, Hewlett-Packard Co. and NEC Corp. will provide unspecified millions of dollars in equipment and funding for the independent, non-profit Open Source Development Lab during the next several years. Nine other sponsors also contributed.
Linux's underlying code is freely distributed on the Web, and many companies independently create specialized Linux products and services they sell. A development center will help coordinate projects among Linux programmers and give them access to high-end equipment to develop systems, the companies said.
Linux ''has to be industrial strength,'' Will Swope, manager of Intel's software group, said in an interview. ''Customers want to know how (software) has been validated, what types of platforms have been run. There's just not any easy way in this market to do that now.''
Development of a full set of electronic-business programs for Linux could speed the system's adoption, which has been hampered because many popular programs aren't available in Linux versions, analysts have said.
The other contributors include Caldera Systems Inc., Dell Computer Corp., Linuxcare Inc., LynuxWorks Inc., Red Hat Inc., Silicon Graphics Inc., SuSE Linux AG, TurboLinux and VA Linux Systems Inc.
VA Linux shares rose 6.89, or 15 percent, to 51.81, while Red Hat added 1.31 to 25.44 and Caldera gained 1.06 to 6.63.
More Centers
The lab, near Portland, Oregon, is expected to open by year's end. It won't start new projects, just speed work on existing ones. The companies could open two or three more labs elsewhere by June with different types of equipment, Swope said.
Board members for the lab will come from sponsor companies, and from among open-source advocates. An independent executive director will implement policy, make funding decisions and help select projects.
Linux, created in 1991 by Finland's Linus Torvalds, is expected to be the fastest-growing operating system for server computers, based on new unit shipments, from now through 2004, research firm IDC has said. Microsoft Corp.'s Windows is expected to remain the most popular.
Servers that run the Linux system, which is a version of the Unix operating system produced by companies including Sun Microsystems Inc., are considered an attractive alternative to their much more expensive Unix-based rivals, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
cnetinvestor.com |
