N.Y.S.E. Places Buy on Linux, Hold on Unix
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The New York Stock Exchange is investing heavily in Linux systems and blade servers as it builds out the hybrid market trading system that it launched last year.
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The two second-tier Linux companies will adopt common Linux software and engineering. Alas, this idea doesn't have a great history of success.
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InfoWorld - If you're looking for a new Linux-equipped Dell laptop or desktop from the PC vendor, you may be waiting a while.
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Look for more consumer electronics products and services from the PC behemoth. Also: SuSE Linux for Dell servers.
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(InfoWorld) - Dell began polling customers about their software preferences on Tuesday as part of an effort by the struggling PC vendor to meet a popular request for desktops and notebooks that run on Linux instead of Windows. Dell posted the survey on a company blog, asking PC users to choose between Linux flavors such as Fedora and Ubuntu, and to pick more general choices such as notebooks versus desktops, high-end models versus value models, and telephone-based support versus community-based support. The company plans to collect votes through March 23, then use the feedback to begin selling Linux-based consumer PCs. Dell already uses Linux in certain server models. "Taking a few minutes to complete this survey will help us define our forthcoming Linux-based system offerings," said Dell software architect Matt Domsch in his blog posting. "We'll take some time to analyze your feedback and work to provide the platforms and options you choose." TheÂ groundswell of demand for LinuxÂ began in February, shortly after company founder Michael Dell returned as CEO. Previous chief executive Kevin Rollins resigned in January as the company began to flounder during a series of problems, from drooping earnings reports to delayed financial filings, an accounting investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and an investor lawsuit. As part of his campaign to help the company renew its profits and regain market share from Hewlett-Packard, Michael Dell launched a company blog to collect customer feedback. Users immediately filled the blog with requests for an alternative to Microsoft's Windows Vista OS and Office suite, such as the Linux OS and OpenOffice productivity tools. On Feb. 23, Dell announced it will work with NovellÂ to install Linux on business PCs, including OptiPlex desktops, Latitude notebooks, and Dell Precision workstations. Dell also said it will work with other Linux providers since users requested many other versions of the OS, such as Novell/Suse Linux Desktop, Red Hat Enterprise Desktop, Fedora, OpenSuse, and Ubuntu. Although Michael Dell's populist approach is winning some praise, the change may come too late to save company profits in the short term. On Tuesday, a prominent analyst noted that Dell has been cutting the number of notebooks it orders from manufacturers in Taiwan. While the industry as a whole is expected to rebound in March from a sales slump preceding the launch of Windows Vista, Dell will deviate from that trend and trim its order for notebook manufacturing, said Citigroup analyst Richard Gardner in the report. Dell did not respond to a request for comment on the forecast. Dell is struggling financially, listing revenue and earnings growth at four-year lows even as its competitors begin to trim their costs and boost profits, Gardner said. At the same time, Dell faces future challenges as it sees slowing growth in its major markets, aggressive pricing by competitors willing to sell PCs at lower operating margins, and a general decline in prices as consumers find they can run more software applications on low-end PCs. Still, Dell's PC production remains slightly above the consensus forecast, Gardner said. In fact, the report counseled investors that HP and AppleÂ stock could rise faster than expected in the first half of 2007, and Dell will follow with strong long-term growth, beating estimates over a 12-to-18-month time span.
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First hardware maker to align with community-based Linux offering.
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Ziff Davis - A new study by VDC finds Linux in barely 2 percent of retailers' point-of-sale systems; it also indicates more strength for bar-code systems and more stumbling blocks for RFID.
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Q: We are in the market for a new computer, which we would use mostly for e-mail, the Internet, letters and reports. I&#39;ve read about a PC sold online by Wal-Mart that runs Linux instead of Windows.
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(InfoWorld) - The next Linux distribution that IBM throws its weight behind is likely to be China's Red Flag Linux, suggesting that for businesses elsewhere in the world the Linux market will remain a two-horse race for the time being. Support from vendors like IBM and Oracle makes a big difference for the adoption of a Linux distribution. It gives big businesses the confidence that the software will be around and supported for several years to come. IBM wants to give its customers as much choice with Linux as it can, but the cost of porting and testing applications for more than the two leading distributions -- from Red Hat and NovellÂ -- makes it impractical to widely support a third option, said Adam Jollans, IBM's worldwide marketing and strategy manager for open source. The next distribution that IBM supports widely is likely to be one for the Chinese market, where the leading contender right now is Red Flag Linux, from Red Flag Software, Jollans said. "We're watching China very closely to see what happens there," he said. IBM has around 300 software products. Supporting both Red Hat and Suse Linux effectively doubles the number for which it has to do testing. Adding support for its three main hardware platforms -- x86, and IBM's Power and zSeries -- means IBM has to test 1,800 software products. Adding broad support for a third Linux OS, such as Debian, would take that number to 2,700. "We're not ready yet to go to another multiple," Jollans said, during a discussion with reporters in Paris on Thursday. The company will support other distributions today, but typically only for large customers or large installations. Jollans also addressed a question about why IBM did not release its own Linux distribution several years ago. "We thought that if IBM was in the market as an 800-pound gorilla, it would have a negative effect on the Linux market. We won't do something that sets us against the community," he said.
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Netra line of servers will have Linux as an operating system option.
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While earlier efforts by Dell to sell Linux-based hardware may not have been a big success, the company is heeding the advice of IT users and trying it again.
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According to the Yankee Group, the adoption of Linux on the desktop should grow to the mid-single digits in the next year. It&#39;s common knowledge that Microsoft rules the desktop operating system (OS) environment
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IBM (NYSE: IBM) has announced an initiative to make Linux applications available across the company's entire hardware line.
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Move should open the way for the Linux seller to buy other companies.
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IBM has added a new capability to its virtualization platform that will allow Linux applications to run on IBM&#39;s Unix servers, the company announced Tuesday.The &quot;Lx86&quot; capability, to be included in IBM&#39;s PowerVM virtualization software, allows x86-based Linux applications to run on IBM&#39;s System p and Power-based Unix systems without modification, according to IBM. The systems will automatically detect and run Linux-based binaries designed for x86 environments.&quot;Lx86 is a way to say, &#39;Whatever you have, it can run,&quot; said Scott Handy, vice president of marketing and strategy for IBM Power Systems.The capability will simplify the consolidation of Unix and Linux server sprawls, Handy said. Running Linux applications in the Unix environment can reduce the cost of server consolidation and energy consumption and increase asset utilization, he argued.Lx86 will be a useful tool for people looking to migrate from Linux systems to other IBM systems, IBM said. The company offers both Unix and Linux operating systems on its servers.The capability will be included in all editions of IBM&#39;s PowerVM platform, which it also renamed Tuesday from the Advanced Power Virtualization platform.The software now includes an Express edition targeted at SMBs. It allows customers to create up to three partitions on a server and control the use of processor cycles to get optimal performance. The Express edition will be shipped to customers soon, priced at $40 per core. PowerVM is also available in Standard and Enterprise editions.IBM also announced that it will update its i5/OS operating system with support for Power6 processors. The update, called V6R1, includes improved performance, storage and security features, according to IBM.The update supports IBM&#39;s Power6 EnergyScale technology for controlling energy use. The company also updated its Rational software tool set for the i5/OS, Handy said.The i5/OS V6R1, for IBM&#39;s System i servers, will ship in March. It will also work with the company&#39;s new BladeCenter H server chassis, Handy said.
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Plans call for a Linux-based platform that will be usable in multiple environments, including on PCs, servers and PDAs.
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In the past, IBM has offered Linux as an option on its pSeries Power4 line, and has also offered Linux in certain partitions on its iSeries products.