The Linux Advocate

 

by Scott Dowdle
dowdle@icstech.net
ICQ UIN: 15509440

Linux Advocate
Column #50
June 11th, 1999

LOGIN:

Lots of news this week. I downloaded RealPlayer G2 and Adobe Acrobat Reader 4 for Linux recently. Sure, those have been available for Windows and the Mac for some time, but better late than never, right? Onto the news section...

NEWS:

Item #1: KOffice: The Killer App of 2000 - KOffice has been maturing over the past year but admittedly, it hasn't gone production yet. ext2 online magazine takes a look at where KOffice is currently. Makes for interesting reading so check it out at the following URL: http://www.ext2.org/99/05/reviews/050499-review4.shtml

Item #2: Red Hat attempts to go public: I think I ran into two dozen stories that all say the same thing... announcing the fact that Red Hat Software has filed with the SEC in an attempt to go public. Below you will find Red Hat's press release, a story from news.com reiterating the press release, and then Salon magazine doing a little better job of providing more info beyond the press release. Then of course there is the Linux Weekly News feature and lastly, is one man's bleak prediction that it'll all be a big failure. What does that guy know anyway, huh? Oh, look, and one rebuttal already. Check them all out: Red Hat Software site - Press Release http://www.redhat.com/corp/press_ipo.html

news.com - Red Hat files to go public http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,37422,00.html
Salon Magazine - The really new economy: Red Hat's IPO http://www.salon.com/tech/log/1999/06/09/red_hat/index.html 
LWN Feature - Red Hat's IPO filing http://lwn.net/1999/features/RedHatIPO.phtml
Jack Bryer - The Charity Case for Red Hat http://www.andovernews.com/cgi-bin/news_column.pl?332
Linux Today - Rebuttal to "The Charity Case for Red Hat" http://linuxtoday.com/stories/6656.html

Item #3: Microsoft and Linux - I must say that Nicholas Petreley has done it again. I can't wait for his follow up column on this. Microsoft keeps re-iterating they that they are not going to make MS Office for Linux. Microsoft also keeps bringing up Linux in court saying it is a competitor for them. Then there are rumors that MS _IS_ working on Office for Linux. I don't know what to believe. The government doesn't seem to be buying that Linux is competition but then again, what is the timeframe the case is supposed to be covering? Check out all of these interesting links. I'd recommend printing out the first one, reading it, and passing it around!

Nicholas Petreley - When the system is free, Microsoft can't win - http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/lw-1999-06/lw-06-penguin_1.html
IT Director - Is Microsoft Taking out Linux Insurance? - http://www.it-director.com/./99-06-04-1.html
Washington Post - Witness Rejects Microsoft Claim http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-06/04/095l-060499-idx.html
PC World - Linux Issue Seen as a Ploy http://www.pcworld.com/pcwtoday/article/0,1510,11245,00.html
Netscape CEO's Testimony Is Re-Examined by Microsoft http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/06/biztech/articles/04soft.html

Item #4: More talk about IBM and Linux - Remember all of the IBM and Linux stuff from last column? Well, here's some more for this week. Read up: Vengeance: How IBM is coordinating a full frontal assault on Microsoft - http://www.osOpinion.com/Opinions/MarkRadulovich/MarkRadulovich1.html

IBM puts its technology behind Linux http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/1999/22/ns-8362.html

Item #5: Compaq, Red Hat push Linux, Unix rapport - Following the news item from last week about Compaq ignoring threats from Microsoft regarding Compaq's deployment of Linux on their hardware comes a story that Compaq is furthering their Linux efforts on multiple fronts. Want to know more? Of course you do so you'll click the link: http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C37492%2C00.html?sas.mail

Item #6: Java Out, Linux In - Wyse (ever hear of them?) decided to drop Java as the basis of their Winterm 5000 series and to replace it with Linux in a 32MB of FlashRAM. Interesting: http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/20015.html

Item #7: SuSe growing in the US - Not to be out done, SuSE is trying even harder to make a dent in the US market by coming up with new deals. I only wish I could find time to check out the latest SuSE Linux 6.1 (or someone to be a guide for me) before a few months pass and a new release comes out. Anyway, check out to see what SuSE is up to: SuSE rolls out its latest version of Linux http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?99063.pisuse.htm

SuSE Launches Business Partner Program http://linuxpr.com/releases/55.html

Item #8: Corel and Linux - Corel continues to work on their distribution of Linux and they are being public about it. After reading their FAQ on the subject I am glad to report that I believe Corel is headed in the right direction... and that their distribution will be welcomed by me since they appear to be focusing on a useful direction. Want to find out what I'm talking about? Well then, read their FAQ for yourself:  http://www.corel.com/news/1999/may/may_1999_faqs.htm


LOGOUT:

I got my hands dirty working with ISDN this past week. I still have a bit of a ways to go before it is where I'd like it to be (on a friend's system, I'm still at 33.6 at home). I need to learn about USB support in the 2.2 kernel so I can get both 64K channels going on his external ISDN Terminal adaptor (his serial port tops out at 115K) but I haven't had time.

Also, last Friday I was the receiver of four free DEC VXT 2000 X Window System Terminals circa 1991. I haven't had time to play with them yet but  rest assured, I'll get around to it sometime this summer. They should work similarly to the Sun SparcStation ELC setup I mentioned some time ago. The VXT 2000 is basically a network computer with no storage... lots of I/O connections for various devices including several flavors of network connectors from which to boot their OS over. I actually know someone who has gotten these things up with Linux as the server so I'm sure it'll be yet another learning experience.

As always, thanks for reading, and any comments or questions are welcome!

Scott Dowdle

 

 

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