[olug] Interesting news on Linux

[Trent Melcher]

Linux players bond for business software


By Tiffany Kary
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
May 30, 2002, 7:45 AM PT


A group of Linux software companies have banded together to create a uniform
version of the operating system for businesses.
But Red Hat, which ships about 50 percent of Linux software, isn't part of
the group, a decision that could undermine its value, said analysts.

U.S. companies Caldera International and Turbolinux, Germany's SuSE Linux
and Brazil's Conectiva said Thursday that they have created the UnitedLinux
organization in order to develop a standard version of the Linux operating
system for businesses. Under terms of the deal, all four companies will
collaborate on one common Linux operating system, also called UnitedLinux.



Linux is a popular open-source operating system that has gained popularity
in recent years as an alternative to other versions of Unix and to
Microsoft's Windows operating system.

The four companies said that UnitedLinux will be more compatible with
software and hardware, a move that could help promote the adoption of Linux
globally. Around 40 percent of companies in North America and Western Europe
already use or are testing Linux, according to research firm IDC, which did
a survey of 800 businesses in 2001.

The companies also plan to pour money into research and development to
strengthen Linux against competing operating systems.

However, the lack of participation by Red Hat in the UnitedLinux alliance is
a problem, said analysts. UnitedLinux is redundant to the Linux Standard
Base specification backed by Red Hat, according to IDC analyst Dan
Kusnetzky.

"Red Hat is still the largest supplier of Linux by shipment," said
Kusnetzky, who estimated that Red Hat ships about twice as many copies of
Linux as the four UnitedLinux founders combined. "This deal is not likely to
have enormous success because the market leader is not part of it," he
added.

On Wednesday, Red Hat launched its own alliance to strengthen its
relationship with hardware and software makers.

The significance of the UnitedLinux alliance is that it will help the four
companies to succeed from a business perspective by cutting engineering
costs, said Kusnetzky.

By creating a standard for business use, UnitedLinux hopes to make
distribution easier for hardware and software vendors who have had to
certify their products to work with all of the Linux distributions.
Businesses will now have a greater selection of products that are certified
to work with Linux, and better services and support.

Software and hardware makers, which include AMD, Borland Software, Computer
Associates International, Fujitsu Siemens, Fujitsu Japan, Hewlett-Packard,
IBM, Intel, NEC, Progress Software, and SAP, said they support the effort.

Kusnetzky said the deal wouldn't really change anything from an industrywide
perspective because Red Hat is already working to establish standards
through the Linux Standard Base specification. Of the four members of
LinuxUnited, only Conectiva is not listed as a current contributor to the
Linux Standard Base on the organization's Web site.

Most of the companies that support the new organization also continue to
support Red Hat.

"IBM will also continue to support Red Hat Linux across its key hardware,
software and services offerings," the company said in a press release
Thursday.

UnitedLinux said it would use the money once used to maintain its own unique
Linux environments to a massive research and development project.

The four partners will each market a different version of the new software,
with their own products and services added in. The tailored versions are
expected to be sold by the partners under their own brands by the end the
year.

The software will have local language support and training, again aiding in
the global adoption of Linux. UnitedLinux will support installations in
English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish,
Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese languages. UnitedLinux will also
support IBM's eServer product line, several of AMD's applications and
Intel's Itanium family of processor.

But most of those products are based on Red Hat Linux, said Kusnetzky.

"It's like walking down the bleach aisle in a grocery store," the analyst
said: "The only difference is the packaging, perfume and color. The
chemicals inside are the same."

The organization said additional Linux companies are welcome to join.


=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
    Trent Melcher  (tmelcher at trilogytel.com)
            StarTouch International
         Network/System Administrator
            Phone:402.346.4600x103
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=



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