IBM plays favourites with Linux distros, Mar 26, 2001

Speaking at the CeBit conference in Hangover, Germany, Solazzo said that IBM's four preferred distributors are SuSE, TurboLinux, Red Hat and Caldera and that its local partners include MadrakeSoft, which is strong in France as well as distributors who are strong in Latin America and China.

Ron Lazarus, chief operating officer at Woodland Hills, California-based Just Sports placed a bet that could cost him thousands of dollars when he approved the use of open source applications and tools to create his company's new transactional database management system. But it would prove one of the smartest business decisions he's ever made. In addition to saving money by using a database powered by PostgreSQL (popularly known as Postgres) and Apache servers running on a Linux operating system, Just Sports USA created a powerful open source infrastructure that is customisable to meet the company's evolving needs.

Since late January, at least 18 federal lawsuits have been filed against VA Linux, claiming the Fremont, Calif.-based company conspired with its investment bankers in a kickback scheme to drive up the price of its shares in what was the largest percentage gain in at least a decade for a stock in its first day of trading. Those suits, which seek certification as class actions, also name the lead underwriter of the VA Linux IPO, Credit Suisse First Boston, as a defendant.

German Linux seller SuSE expects to become profitable in 12 to 18 months, considerably later than U.S. rival Red Hat, but the company would much rather stay on its side of the Atlantic.

"The Linux market in Germany is so ahead of the U.S.," Chief Technology Officer Dirk Hohndel said in an interview during the CeBit trade show in Germany. "This is the best Linux market there is."

As director of IBM's Linux Technology Center in Beaverton, Ore., Dan Frye, who oversees the activities of approximately 200 people, will play a large role in furthering the company's ambitions to push Linux into corporate America. He recently sat down with CNET to discuss his thoughts about the future of Linux and its potential to shake up the constellation of power in the operating systems market.

 View older news this year: Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
 View news from other years: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999