Cisco Buys PostPath for $215 Million, Aug 28, 2008

Cisco Systems Inc. agreed to buy closely held PostPath Inc. in a $215 million deal, highlighting the networking giant's bid to expand its business-applications portfolio. PostPath, Mountain View, Calif., makes Linux-based email and calendaring software that it markets as an alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s Exchange software.

A few weeks ago, Microsoft rolled out what’s arguably its most important product this year: Windows Server 2008, the operating system for corporate server computers. It’s a cornerstone to a bunch of other Microsoft software, and it will be used by businesses large and small.

Linux has had a great run. But to keep the growth, the upstart operating system needs to please more people like Jim Walsh.

What I found was that for some people, Linux systems may do just fine. But they still are largely more appealing to computer hobbyists who would like to see Microsoft face more competition. Specifically, while the installation and simple functions worked well enough, the systems couldn't handle all the multimedia applications I needed. And getting some of the systems to work required more time and effort than I was willing to exert.

[Microsoft's] future has been clouded by the rise of Linux and the open-source software movement, which poses a long-term threat to the near-monopoly status of its proprietary Windows operating system.

A novel plan to develop a $100 laptop computer for distribution to millions of schoolchildren in developing countries has caught the interest of governments and the attention of computer-industry heavyweights.