IBM Bets Chips on Open Source, Apr 01, 2004

Nick Donofrio, IBM senior vice president, technology and manufacturing noted that IBM's involvement and promotion of open source operating system Linux has been very positive and the company now hopes to extend that kind of growth and developer interest to its Power microprocessors.

Donofrio said that individual computer chip and system suppliers have relied on different microprocessor architectures and features to advance their products over the competition's offerings. But IBM believes closed-source chip design has slowed innovation since users have had to wait for the chip producers to make changes in microprocessor architecture or design.

"If Linux wasn't doing so well, no one would bother filing lawsuits against us," said open-source developer Frank Gorskin. "I look around LinuxWorld and I see how far we've come in a few short years. Nothing and no one can stop Linux now."

Besides robots and penguins playing hide and seek, the LinuxWorld at San Francisco's Moscone Center Aug. 4 through Aug. 7 will feature dozens of new Linux and open-source product launches. More than 150 companies will be exhibiting at the trade show.

Demeter, Mother Earth to ancient Greeks, is now helping scientists unlock the mysteries of life.

Demeter is the name of the American Museum of Natural History's supercomputer. Built by biologist Ward Wheeler from off-the-shelf parts, the Linux cluster is now ranked the 107th-fastest computer in the world on the Top 500 supercomputers list.