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To: jazzallnight who wrote (116349)	11/8/2000 11:56:20 PM
From: puborectalis	Respond to of 120523

Ockman: Linux Still Rules Servers (11/07/00, 5:18 p.m. ET) By Barnaby Page, TechWeb News PARIS -- Linux may be temporarily down, but it's far from out. That was the defiant message from Sam Ockman, CEO of Linux server company Penguin Computing, speaking at NetWorld+Interop 2000 here. The talk came just a day after another seller of Linux-based computers, VA Linux Systems Inc. (stock: LNUX), issued a warning of sharply reduced earnings. In a keynote speech pointedly directed at the Linux community's archrival Microsoft (stock: MSFT), he said: "If people make the right networking and infrastructure choices such as Linux and open-source [software], they'll be far better off in the future and won't have to replace anything." Ockman, who began his impassioned speech beneath a huge illustration of the Linux penguin mascot declaring "Mr. Gates, I'll be your server today," set Linux head-to-head with Microsoft, Redmond, Wash., and perhaps unsurprisingly found the giant wanting. For example, he said, open-source products were more secure because the greater number of programmers involved means they can fix problems faster, and spot dangerous "back doors." But he cautioned against thinking of Linux as an all-purpose operating system like Microsoft's Windows and Windows NT. "Linux is best suited to what it was best suited to two and a half years ago -- Internet serving," Ockman said, adding that the open-source movement was affecting the enterprise via the Internet and not through the wholesale replacement of other operating systems. And the Linux market would benefit from the hugely increased demands made on Net servers through customization of websites and online security, he said. A cutting-edge site with pages personalized for each visitor and secure commerce could require millions of times more computing power than a single, static HTML page, Ockman said, suggesting this need for large clusters of servers would drive demand for Linux. Focusing on the server market may have proved costly for VA Linux, however, which saw its shares lose 42 percent Monday to a 52-week low of $17 3/8 after it warned that sales to dot-com companies were steeply down. The dot-com business is a key market for vendors involved in the operating system -- estimates differ, but between one-third and two-thirds of websites are believed to run from Linux servers. VA Linux, Sunnyvale, Calif., said that in its first quarter it would lose 14 to 16 cents a share, against analyst estimates compiled by First Call/Thomson Financial of 9 cents a share. CEO Larry Augustin attributed the shortfall to a lack of new custom from VC-funded dot-coms, although he said repeat business was good. The company is now trying to move beyond the dot-com market and sell into major corporations, Augustin said. But he cautioned that long sales cycles and a small market presence so far meant results would not be immediate. VA Linux will also face competition in the corporate market from established vendors such as Dell (stock: DELL), Hewlett-Packard (stock: HWP), and IBM (stock: IBM) offering Linux-based systems. Intel Corp. (stock: INTC) holds a minority share in VA Linux.