Top tech firms back Linux over Vista, Jan 23, 2007

A week before the launch of Microsoft's new Vista operating system, its open-source competitor Linux received a giant boost Monday as prominent high-tech companies announced they were forming a consortium to promote the free challenger.

A Linux-based home router appears to be attracting a growing community of hackers. However, in responding to hackers' requests for source code for its Home Hub, distributor British Telecom (BT) may not be complying fully with Linux's GPL license terms, according to a story at The Register.

Experts, users and authors agree: When Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 launches in February, it will succeed or fail on the merits of Xen.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday that it signed up to use Novell's Suse Enterprise Linux Server as a result of the pact between the software vendors. Wal-Mart, a big user of Microsoft software, is also a customer of Novell rival Red Hat Inc.

Novell Inc might have signed a patent and interoperability deal with Microsoft Corp but it is not about to give up competing with the software giant and last week released a study that suggests its Linux desktop product is better value than Windows Vista.

Final preparations are being completed for the Fifth Annual SoCal Linux Expo (SCALE 5X), to be held Feb. 9-11 at the Westin Los Angeles Airport hotel. All speaker slots are full, and all exhibitor booths have been filled, according to the event's organizers.

A number of unique consolidations are happening in the industry just as Microsoft is trying to get a buzz going about Vista. The timing couldn't be better, but there are bound to be numerous shake-outs and a few collapses. And Microsoft looks vulnerable, too.

Novell is attempting to take the wind out of Microsoft's upcoming launch of Windows Vista by offering its SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 as an alternative.

Cisco plans to resolve a single license compliance issue regarding the use of Linux in one of its iPhones, the company wrote in a blog posting, but a researcher contends that Cisco has more work to do.

Novell on Monday reiterated support for unfettered Linux development - even as analysts hailed its controversial co-development pact with Microsoft, the freely distributed operating system's archrival.

Windows XP will continue to reign supreme, while Vista will have scant market share until 2009, according to new projections from technology research group Gartner. According to Gartner, Vista is just catching up to Mac OS X in the consumer space but will make steady progress as the years roll by.

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