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Linux Pipeline Newsletter www.LinuxPipeline.com Tuesday, September 21, 2004 In This Issue: - Judge Weighs Evidence In IBM, SCO Case - Linux Subscription Sales Deliver A Strong Quarter For Red Hat - Sun-Microsoft Pact Excludes OpenOffice Users - More News... - Feature: Why The Open-Source Model Can Work In India - Opinion: Mr. Phelps' Microsoft Mission? - Review: Cyclades' AlterPath KVM/net Switch - More Picks... Microsoft(R) Windows(R) or Linux? See why major third-party research and analysis firms found Windows to be less expensive than Linux. Click here to get the facts. http://www.techweb.com/microsoft0804 ----------------------------------------- Editor's Note: Playing The Same Old Game We've been cleaning out the dungeons and catacombs of the venerable Linux Pipeline headquarters--an ancient, stone fortress located on a mysterious, fog-shrouded island not shown on any map --and we recently came across some old copies of UNIX Today. That's the publication where I broke in to the computer trade press and started my descent into depravity. The front pages of UNIX Today are filled with the ongoing drama of the struggle between Unix System V vendors, led by AT&T and Sun Microsystems, and Open Software Foundation vendors, led by Digital Equipment Corp. The whole thing looks foolish and more than a little comical today, because the real threat at that time was Microsoft, which had just introduced a graphical PC desktop and was gearing up to introduce its first major server operating system (those were Windows 3.1 and Windows NT, of course). The thing is, the smart Unix vendors KNEW that Microsoft was a threat--and yet they were incapable of putting aside their intramural squabbling and uniting for the common good. And because of Unix vendors' self-destruction and failing to react to the Microsoft threat, Unix is now dead. Or, rather, it's alive in the way that Latin is alive; Unix is at the core of Sun Microsystems Solaris, and IBM AIX, and Hewlett-Packard HP/UX, but those operating systems have broadly diverged from their Unix roots, and the aggregate Unix server market is declining. Of course, Windows isn't the only thing replacing Unix. Linux is too, and many of the Unix players are active in the Linux community. They have less hair today, and bigger waistlines-- and also more sense. Major Linux vendors said Monday they will agree to support a single set of specifications for the operating system to ensure that the operating system doesn't fragment like Unix did, helping provide compatibility between different vendors' Linux versions. Linux Boosters Look To Keep The OS Together Free Standards Group Announces General Availability Of Linux Standard Base 2.0 The Free Standards Group comprises Linux big boys Hewlett- Packard, IBM, Red Hat, Novell, as well as other important players, such as Advanced Micro Devices, Dell and MandrakeSoft. There's an analogy between the so-called Unix wars and real wars in the real world, and its a depressing one. Think of any brutal region in the world today. Wouldn't the residents of that region be better off if they simply stopped killing each other? And yet, through much of the world, people are willing to sacrifice their own success if it means guaranteeing the failure of their enemies. It's the same impulse: in war and genocide, it results in tragedy; within the computer industry it results in ludicrous, self-destructive business practices, and declining stock prices and market share. I don't mean to trivialize events like the tragedy playing out in the Sudan by comparing them to relatively trivial business conflicts. But I think the fact that we see the same self-destructive tribalism playing out on the business stage as we do in organized violent conflict points to both kinds of events springing from deep-seated human tribalism and instincts. Finally, I'd like to announce a change here at Linux Pipeline: a new editor. Matt McKenzie, who previously served as editor of Developer Pipeline, will take over here, allowing me to focus on my work as editor of Security Pipeline. Matt spent a lot of time covering open-source developer tools and technologies, and he's a great fit to take Linux Pipeline on to even bigger and better things. I'm sure all of you will be just as willing to share your thoughts with Matt as you always have been with me--and Matt must be sure too, since he just got an unlisted phone number. It's been fun, and I hope you all have enjoyed Linux Pipeline as much as I enjoyed editing it.
Mitch Wagner
Matthew McKenzie Judge Weighs Evidence In IBM, SCO Case IBM attorneys ask a federal judge to dismiss SCO's lawsuit for lack of evidence.
Linux Subscription Sales Deliver A Strong Quarter For Red Hat
Sun-Microsoft Pact Excludes OpenOffice Users
Microsoft Expands Sharing Of Source Code
Gnome Debuts 2.8 Desktop
SurfControl Joins The Antispam Appliance Race
GroundWork Ships Updated Open-Source Monitoring Tool
Gupta Fills Gap Between Windows And Linux
Mobile Java Apps Surging, Survey Claims FEATURE: Why The Open-Source Model Can Work In India An Indian Institute of Technology professor--and open-source evangelist--discusses the role of Linux and open source in India.
OPINION: Mr. Phelps' Microsoft Mission?
REVIEW: Cyclades' AlterPath KVM/net Switch Cast Your Vote Now! In last week's poll we asked which Linux distributor you prefer above all others: The field is large; but SUSE/Novell has emerged as the early favorite. The polls are still open and every vote counts. Vote today!
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Microsoft(R) Windows(R) or Linux? See why major third-party research and analysis firms found Windows to be less expensive than Linux. Click here to get the facts. http://www.techweb.com/microsoft0804 ----------------------------------------- We take your privacy very seriously. Please review our Privacy Policy.
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