|
Linux firm wins partners
|
 |
March 9, 1999: 11:12 a.m. ET
IBM, Compaq, others buy into Red Hat; new woes for Microsoft?
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Computer industry support for Linux grew Tuesday as IBM, Compaq, Oracle and Novell agreed to take stakes in Red Hat Software, a distributor of the operating system that is giving Microsoft headaches in the corporate server market.
"Red Hat chose Compaq, IBM, Novell and Oracle as equity partners because of their leadership positions in the computing industry," Red Hat said, noting the companies agreed to take minority stakes for undisclosed terms.
"The support of a such a stellar group of leaders creates even more momentum for … Linux as a powerful, reliable, cost-effective and safe choice for any computing environment," Red Hat said.
The moves are only the latest in support of Linux, which was invented by former University of Helsinki student Linus Torvalds and may be downloaded free over the Internet. In perhaps the most significant move so far, IBM (IBM) said last month it would sell computers running on Linux.
The moves spell trouble for Microsoft (MSFT) as it seeks to market new versions of its Windows NT operating system to big corporations, industry analysts have said. Some analysts say that if it lives up to its promise, Linux could end up reshaping the computer software industry.
While Linux is available for free, most corporate users opt to pay for the system and its attendant support through distributors such as Red Hat. Indeed, in the server market, where Linux competes with Windows NT, Linux sales surged 212 percent last year versus a 27.2 percent gain for Windows NT, according to research firm International Data Corp. The jump gave Linux roughly 17 percent of the market last year compared with about 36 percent for NT.
The latest version of Windows NT, Microsoft's industrial-strength operating system, has been delayed and is now expected to reach the market later this year as part of Windows 2000.
Despite its promise, some people say Linux is not well-suited for use on home PCs, though others swear by it. One problem has been a dearth of programs that would run easily on Linux, but recent moves by Oracle (ORCL), IBM's Lotus Notes and others are meant to change that.
Last month, Intel (INTC), Hewlett-Packard (HWP) and Dell Computer (DELL) all stepped up their backing of Linux. Intel, for example, took a small stake in VA Research, a California company that sells computers with Linux, just five months after the world's biggest chip maker bought a small stake in Red Hat, which is based in North Carolina.
Many of last month's announcements came at LinuxWorld, a trade show in San Jose, Calif., that was sort of a coming out party for the software.
While some people praise Linux since unlike Microsoft's Windows it is "open" - meaning thousands of programmers worldwide can add features and improve the software, hoping the changes will be approved by Torvalds - others say that poses security problems for users.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
