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Microcap & Penny Stocks : Tokyo Joe's Cafe / Societe Anonyme/No Pennies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: clutterer who wrote (20272)	12/2/1998 8:21:00 AM
From: EyeDrMike	Respond to of 119973

<< Cramer really sticking it to internets on CNBC>> Cramer probably got caught short or pissed he missed the run. On LINUX: Linux--Achilles' heel? By Ben Heskett Staff Writer, CNET News.com December 2, 1998, 4:00 a.m. PT special report It is the once-obscure operating system that could. Linux is on a roll, the beneficiary of a series of moves in recent months by some of the largest companies in the computer industry, feeding the perception that the freely distributed, Unix-like software could provide a serious alternative to the dominant Microsoft Windows franchise. If successful, Linux poses a big threat to Microsoft's platform dominance. Linux is outside Microsoft's API control. Since the operating system is based on standard Internet protocols such as HTTP, TCP/IP, and other technologies defined and maintained by bodies outside Microsoft's purview, the software giant can't steer its future direction, or even be guaranteed of revenue from selling Linux applications. An internal research paper, part of the so-called Halloween memos believed to have been intentionally leaked to the Net by Microsoft, shows that Microsoft's own engineering staff sees Linux as a serious, commercial-ready operating system. According to a memo written by Microsoft engineer Vinod Valloppillil, Linux <Picture: Linux's threat to Microsoft is created by the two undeniable traits at the heart of its momentum: It is largely free and it is completely open.> "represents a best-of-breed Unix that is trusted in mission-critical applications, and--due to its open source code--has a long-term credibility which exceeds many other competitive OSes." In what the memo's author considers the "worst case" scenario for Microsoft, Linux will "provide a mechanism for server OEMs to provide integrated, task-specific products and completely bypass Microsoft revenues in this space." Evidence of the momentum is everywhere. Estimates peg the installed base of machines running Linux software at anywhere from 7 million to 10 million users. One Linux-based company, Red Hat Software, recently garnered the financial support of both chip giant Intel and Netscape Communications. Corporate software developers such as Oracle, Sybase, and Informix also have pledged to offer their software on Linux. That has been buttressed by efforts to create more wide-ranging support options for Linux, a weak spot for the operating system in the view of some. And the Redmond, Washington-based software giant has noticed. In a recent annual filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, <Picture: Microsoft's crown jewels> Microsoft said it expects to have more competition in the market, due in part to the growth of Linux and the support it continues to receive from third-party applications developers. Linux is thought by some to be an attractive alternative to Microsoft's Windows NT Workstation and Server operating system, which has experienced significant sales growth in recent years. Based on the recent publicity surrounding the Halloween Memo, it also seems Microsoft could learn a thing or two from the Linux distribution model. Linux is a product of the 1990s, though its genesis came out of AT&T's Unix software efforts in the 1960s. Linux's roots as a Net-based software phenomenon date back to 1991, when Linus Torvalds--then a student at the University of Helsinki in Finland--decided to build an alternative to Windows and DOS