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To: Olu Emuleomo who wrote (145697)	8/18/2002 3:21:19 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

I don't know what to make of IBM right now, thats why I left them off. I see Dell as a major threat to their hardware business, and they are not a software company per-se. I like app servers but I'm not sure we know who is going to take that biz... oracle has an app server too preloaded on a Dell box. If you are a software company like sebl oem'ing oracle for your data layer why not take their app server too vs. oem'ing yet another vendor. I don't know. So are you thinking its time for a rally based on that chart you posted- in the naz or the dow? L

To: Olu Emuleomo who wrote (145697)	8/18/2002 9:24:25 PM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164684

>>In fact, Linux is one threat that MSFT has no defenses against!<< So buy Red Hat while its hot. >>SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon.com switched nearly its entire computer network to the freely shared Linux operating system not because of politics but because it is helping the company grow and cut costs, Amazon's engineering chief said yesterday. "We wanted the best tool for the task," said Jacob Levanon, director of systems engineering at the Seattle-based Internet retailer. Amazon has become a poster child for the progress Linux is making in large-enterprise computing since the Web giant began using Linux to run 92 percent of its network computers last September. Levanon's presentation of how and why Amazon switched to Linux from a proprietary version of Unix, the AT&T-developed software that is the longtime standard in large computing centers, was a highlight of the LinuxWorld trade show this week. The switch has saved Amazon millions partly by reducing the number of engineers needed to support the system, Levanon said. The company can tap into the global network of Linux supporters who collaboratively develop and improve the software . Sharing the stage with Levanon was Michael Tiemann, chief technology officer at Raleigh, N.C.-based Red Hat, which develops commercial versions of Linux. An outspoken Microsoft critic, Tiemann testified against the company in its antitrust trial and yesterday urged conference attendees to march today to City Hall to support the state of California's leadership in the case. But Levanon said Amazon paid no attention to the rivalry between Linux supporters and Microsoft. Instead, Amazon was looking for software that could lower costs and handle the massive loads of its Web site. It also wanted flexible software that would help Amazon build its own software platform as it broadened its business. Amazon's switch to Linux was part of a broad restructuring in early 2001 as the company shifted from rapid growth to profitability. It set an aggressive timetable of 120 days to adapt the software and convert thousands of data-serving computers in time for last year's holiday season, all while maintaining the Web site, fixing bugs in its existing software and adding features for customers, Levanon said. He wasn't specific on how much the company saved with Linux. Red Hat notes Amazon's technology costs were down $17 million, or 24 percent, in the third quarter of 2001. But Amazon reported the switch contributed to $182 million in extraordinary charges last year. The switch was done only a bit over schedule despite a uniquely Linux complication. Midway through the transition, Linux creator Linus Torvalds, a Finnish programmer who oversees the system's evolution, abruptly changed the software's underlying code, forcing Red Hat and Amazon to change course on the fly. Tiemann denied other large businesses would be scared away from Linux by the potential uncertainty of such changes. archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com

To: Olu Emuleomo who wrote (145697)	8/19/2002 3:45:42 AM
From: uu	Respond to of 164684

> Proprietary stuff is slowly losing steam! In fact, Linux is one threat that MSFT has no defenses against! In the words of President Clinton who said:"It all depends of what the meaning of the word "IS" is...", "Proprietary" is really how you define it! MS Windows is not a "Proprietary" product, but rather "the" de facto standard for client centric software. Linux and Unix are perhaps the de facto standards for server centric software. But if the client de facto standard (i.e. Windows) does not support the server centric de facto, what is going to happen?! Will software developers start porting and/or developing their client side applications on Unix/Linux with tools that do not exist (or even if they do, are not even come close to what they have been spolied with MSFT)? I doubt that very much. Remember, when people (at last most) buy a car, the first thing they really pay attention is its look and feel, and how comfortable it is inside, and then they care (if any) about the internals of its engine! > The new and exciting stuff in software is in open source aka Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, PERL There is a saying, "you get what you pay for"! With the exception of tomcat/Apache, the rest (e.g. MySQL, PERL, PHP, etc.) are just "nice" software at an academic level, and not practical in the real world..