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

To: Rusty Johnson who wrote (2435)	8/14/2002 8:08:23 AM
From: Rusty Johnson	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2617

Linux Feels the Corporate Love By Michelle Delio Google uses Linux everywhere, on servers and on desktop machines for all of our technical employees," Brin told the crowd. He explained that Linux was chosen because it "offers us the best price-for-performance ratio, plus it's great to be able to customize any part of the operating system whenever we want to." Many Google employees are expert Linux programmers, Brin said, which allows the company to develop new technology quickly and efficiently. Brin said that most of Google's administrative tools were also developed in-house. Amazon's Nelson seemed less enamored of the programming possibilities offered by Linux. Amazon made a pragmatic decision to switch to Linux specifically to reduce costs, according to Nelson. Nelson said that the company has seen a 25 percent reduction -- which amounts to millions of dollars -- in technology expenses, and a little over an 11 percent reduction in infrastructure maintenance costs and software licensing fees since switching to the open-source operating system. Some cost savings were due to equipment and service price drops in the sluggish tech market, but Nelson attributes the bulk of the savings to Linux. Judging by the testimonials at the show, Linux has come a long way in the past year and is gaining many fans in influential places as companies scramble to cut costs. Linux is a money saver in several ways. The operating system can be downloaded for free, or a single copy can be purchased from a company like SuSe or RedHat and then installed on as many computers as a company chooses. "Closed source" software manufacturers typically charge a per-user licensing fee. And Linux users have a wide range of no-cost or low-cost applications to choose from, all of which are also installable on multiple machines for no additional fees. "Contrast that sort of deal with Windows XP and Office XP and its 'product activation technology' that locks each copy of Windows and Office to a particular computer, and you see the savings," Frank Futhen, a systems analyst from California attending LinuxWorld said. "Linux simply makes good financial sense." ... The Yankee group study indicated that interest in alternatives to Microsoft's operating system are at the highest level in over a decade, due to their appeal as the 'un-Windows' solution, according to Yankee Group senior analyst and report author Laura DiDio. "Corporate user resentment and dissatisfaction with Microsoft and some of its practices are at an all-time high," DiDio said. "A myriad of issues ranging from Microsoft's perceived monopolistic practices, hyperbolic marketing, ongoing security woes, and habitually slipping ship dates of major new product releases, as well as confusion surrounding the overall .NET strategy have undermined corporate customer confidence." DiDio's survey of 1,500 corporations found that nearly 40 percent of the respondents "were so outraged" by Microsoft's new licensing plans that they are actively seeking alternatives. Several products at LinuxWorld should appeal to those in search of alternatives. Linux has yet to really catch on as a desktop operating system, but Red Hat aims to change that with a version of Linux specifically tailored for use on business desktops. Red Hat's not-cheerfully code-named "Limbo" desktop operating system is being billed as easier to deploy and use than the current version of Red Hat Linux. Earlier on Tuesday, Scott McNealy, president, CEO and chairman at Sun, promised that Sun would also be announcing Linux-on-the-desktop news in the next month or so. "Linux is doing very well on the desktop," McNealy said during his keynote. "We love that, and I promise you will hear more from us on this subject. Stay tuned, you will see more." wired.com Linux ... the bottom line is the bottom line.