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Technology Stocks : Corel Corp. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tom pope who wrote (8181)	12/16/1999 9:18:00 PM
From: eyewatch	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9798

Don't even mention that fellows name. Here read this for nite reading Linux developer labours for love Corel's David Neil fell for operating system long before investors did SIMON TUCK Thursday, December 16, 1999 OTTAWA -- IN It's turned out to be a stable, long-term relationship but it started out with a bang -- or at least a crash. Planted in front of a computer screen in his Ottawa basement late one night about five years ago, David Neil was quietly surfing the Internet when he stumbled upon a reference to Linux. A software programmer both by trade and hobby, Mr. Neil did a quick search on the fledgling operating system and found plenty. "I was only looking for development tools," Mr. Neil remembers. "It happened by accident." It was love at first sight for Mr. Neil, now a senior software engineer for Corel Corp. and Linux, one of the industry's hottest trends. The operating system is increasingly seen as an inexpensive alternative to Microsoft Windows. Its popularity has also made stock market darlings of Ottawa-based Corel and other Linux players. But for Mr. Neil, now one of Corel's top Linux programmers, his affair had a rocky start. When he first tried to download Linux to his home computer that night, his machine sputtered and erased everything on his hard drive. But he wasn't deterred. With his computer back in full force the next morning, Mr. Neil became so enthralled with his new programming toy that he installed it on some of his company's computers and moved his home computer up to the main floor so he could see his family once in a while. "I just loved playing around with it . . . It's probably no different from someone who loves skydiving -- they just love to jump out of a plane," says Mr. Neil, who at the time was a fibre-optics specialist at Bell Canada. But after two decades with Bell, Mr. Neil longed for a change of scenery and moved to Corel to try his hand in the blossoming software sector. "I was basically 40 years old, and I figured it was long enough with one organization." In 1997, Mr. Neil, now with Corel, was approached about getting involved in the company's big plunge into Linux. It's wasn't a tough call. "It was a dream come true -- I literally had to pinch myself." Mr. Neil says he's not too surprised that the alternative operating system is taking off. "Most of us who are working on it realize it could, and probably should be, based on its technological merits, the next big thing," he said. "We know it's good." Ming Poon, the man who asked Mr. Neil to get involved in the project and who first suggested Corel get involved in Linux, said he never doubted the operating system's potential. He suggested Corel do something with Linux almost three years ago but was told to forget it. "They told me I'm crazy." But nobody's saying that now. Linux has become the source of a stock market frenzy. The sudden "discovery" has been driven in recent weeks by three key events: Last week's announcement from Dell Computer Corp. that it plans to use the upstart technology in a new line of high-end servers; last month's ruling by a U.S. judge that Microsoft Corp. acts as a monopoly; and the focus on Linux at last month's Comdex computer show in Las Vegas. The market's sudden obsession with the one-obscure technology has turned a host of tiny, revenue-starved startups in stock-market darlings. Mr. Neil admits it's probably gone a little overboard. "I think anybody can agree there's a lot of speculation out there." Linux has already been embraced by a decent chunk of the business market. The momentum is such that International Data Corp. of Framingham, Mass. predicts in a new study that Linux use will grow 25 per cent over the next four years. IDC also wrote that Corel is particularly well-positioned to take advantage of the Linux trend, thanks to the version of the operating system it released last month. Linux has given Corel a much-needed, short-term boost. Mr. Poon says that in that sense, his company's Linux project has already been a success. "One of the goals of the project was to bring some excitement back to the company." The ever-cool Mr. Neil says he doesn't let himself get too carried away with the hype. "There's a lot of young people [at Corel] who get a lot more excited than me," he says with a chuckle. "They're really hyper." But he admits that working on Linux has allowed him to recharge his batteries and meet lots of new co-workers, many of whom have taken advantage of the share price boost to cash in on stock options. "It's amazing how many people come by and say 'hi' now." Site seeing corel.com CURRICULUM VITAE Who: David Neil What: Senior software engineer, Corel Corp. Job description: Helps put together components for his company's new line of Linux software products Education: Concordia University in Montreal and the State University of New York Why he does it: Working on Linux "is probably no different from someone who loves skydiving -- they just love to jump out of a plane."