Linux in a deal with IBM...
nytimes.com
<<NEW YORK (AP) -- A popular IBM program for network databases
will be sold with a Linux operating system in a deal giving the upstart
software company added legitimacy in a market dominated by
Microsoft's Windows NT.
The agreement to bundle TurboLinux and IBM's best-selling DB2
Universal Database program was announced today by Pacific HiTech,
one of many small companies selling a version of Linux.
The companies also agreed to collaborate on making future editions of
IBM server software, often referred to as ''middleware,'' and
TurboLinux work together more smoothly.
For now, Linux poses only a marginal threat to Windows NT as the No.
1 software platform for the servers that run computer networks.
But an affiliation with DB2, which recently eclipsed Oracle8 as the top
database application for those machines, marks a new level of legitimacy
for Linux, which is a fan favorite among software developers, but
relatively new to the business world.
''It takes more than just an operating system to run a computing
environment effectively,'' said John B. Jones Jr., an industry analyst for
Salomon Smith Barney, noting surveys showing that data processing is a
top priority among server operators.
''In the Linux space, the No. 1 prerequisite is database software, and
IBM has the No. 1 position in the database market,'' he said, referring to
Tuesday's deal as ''one more incremental benefit to the people who are
considering using Linux.''
The Linux code, developed by Linus Torvalds in the early 1990s when
he was a student in Finland, is best known for being a system that rarely
crashes.
But it was relatively unknown until recently, when big names such as
Intel, IBM, Netscape, and Oracle began investing in Red Hat, a leading
vendor of Linux software, based in Durham, N.C.
In 1998, the Linux server market grew by 212 percent with more than
500,000 copies shipped, according to International Data Corporation, an
industry research firm.
The basic code, continually updated in consultation with an enthusiastic
community of programmers, is still given away for free over the Internet
or can be bought at stores for as little as $30.
Enhanced versions such as TurboLinux can sell for about $200.
No pricing for the DB2-TurboLinux was disclosed. DB2 typically sells
for about $8,000 per copy.
''We have customers in every geography asking for Linux solutions,''
said Dick Sullivan, a vice president for IBM Software. ''Collaborations
like our agreement with Pacific HiTech will help IBM bring enterprise
solutions to our customers faster and with the same high level of support
for Linux as we provide for other operating systems.''
Pacific HiTech, based in san Francisco, shipped about 1 million units of
TurboLinux last year, but mostly in Asia.>>
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