The Linux Advocate

 

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


Linux Advocate
Column #57
August 13th, 1999

LOGIN:

Greetings Linux Fans. The big news this week is of course... the LinuxWorld Expo being held in San Jose, CA. Man, I wish I could have gone. Instead, I'm going on a family vacation to Maine in Sept. I've not been to Maine before and I'm sure I'll enjoy it... but man 'o man, it would have been nice to go to LinuxWorld and meeting all of the Linux heros while they are still approachable.

NEWS:

Item #1: LinuxWorld - I haven't found any super-fantastic sites that have a virtual tour of LinuxWorld yet. I'm hoping that dude who usually puts together a presentation will do so shortly and I'll pass along the link next week. In any event, check out the links listed below... which I just lifted off the LinuxWorld magazine site as well as a few others. I'd have to say that each item really is a story on its own and that everything announced/shown at the show will be news worthy for the next few weeks. Make sure to check out these links:

From LinuxWorld Online Magazine:

Main Page
http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/linuxworldtoday/home.html

Linus at LinuxWorld
http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/linuxworldtoday/lwt-indepth2.html

Born to be wired
http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/linuxworldtoday/lwt-indepth1.html

Linux is definitely in fashion
http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/linuxworldtoday/lwt-indepth5.html

Corel unveils new Linux distribution
http://www.linuxworld.com/linuxworld/linuxworldtoday/lwt-news2.html

Other coverage

Linux Weekly News: http://lwn.net/1999/features/LinuxWorld/

Red Hat IPO to cap busy Linux trade show: http://news.com/News/Item/0,4,40206,00.html

Boomlet approaches boom status on the eve of LinuxWorld Expo: http://www7.mercurycenter.com/premium/business/docs/gillmor08.htm

Item #2: Red Hat Software IPO - Now I know I've run across at least 25 stories on the Red Hat IPO. Below is a sampling. I only looked into the value of the stock on Wednesday and haven't seen how it is doing since day 1... and there is no way in heck I'm turning this column into a stock watch. As stated last column, no one I personally know was able to buy any of the IPO stock. I did see a story about how someone contacted Richard Stallman to see if he picked up any stock and he said he couldn't care less about the whole affair. I'm sure that Richard was invited in on the stock deal and could have picked up a nice profit from the deal if he had chosen to invest and then do some profit taking like it appears most everyone did since the stock changed hands at least three times per share on opening day. Hmmm, was that a run on sentence? Anyway, I commend Richard for sticking to his principles even if most everyone else thinks he is nuts. Personally, I'm not a fan of the stock market. Follow a few of the URLs below for more info:

Linux-Driven Red Hat Makes Sizzling Debut, While Other IPOs Sputter
http://dowjones.wsj.com/n/SB934405781507419871-d-main-c1.html

Shares of Linux Firm Red Hat More Than Triple After IPO
http://www.plcom.on.ca/news/top_stories/linux/articles/990811e.php3

Share Price More Than Triples in Red Hat's Public Offering
http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/08/biztech/articles/12linux.html

Linux finds its place
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/224/business/Linux_finds_its_place%2b.shtml

Red Hat bucks the IPO trend
http://www.redherring.com/insider/1999/0812/inv-linux.html

Red Hot
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/08/12/redhat_ipo/index.html

Red Hat's IPO soars; CEO sees windfall
http://www.plcom.net/news/top_stories/linux/articles/990812d.php3

Item #3: SGI - More big news in the SGI world this week. It's just all more evidence that they are putting more faith in Linux, and less in Windows NT. They aren't only putting in just faith either, as they are releasing several of their intellectual properties to help the Linux development community fill in some of the gaps. These are amazing times. Read about them:

SGI to shed Cray, shift OS focus to Linux
http://www.eet.com/story/OEG19990810S0019

SGI Bids Adieu to NT in Latest Restructuring
http://www.fool.com/news/1999/sgi990810.htm

Silicon Graphics turns focus to Linux
http://www.infoworld.com/cgi-bin/displayStory.pl?990810.pisgi.htm

XFS: A high-performance journaling file system
http://oss.sgi.com/projects/xfs/

Item #4: Throw Away Windows? When and Whether to Switch to Linux - Jesse Berst has yet another column where he focuses on Linux. On Slashdot it was theorized that since Jesse had just gotten back from vacation, he needed a little Slashdot Effect on his column so he would appear to be missed by his adoring fans. :)
Check out more of Jesse's nonsense at the following URL: http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/story/story_3723.html

Item #5: Mandrake Linux - MandrakeSoft, makers of Mandrake Linux... a distribution based on Red Hat... had a few press items this week too. They got Product of the Year at LinuxWorld. I've been running Mandrake at home and I don't have many complaints. I'm also glad to see MandrakeSoft supporting the KOffice Project. Right on! Read for yourself at the following URLs:

Linux-Mandrake to Support KOffice Project
http://linuxpr.com/releases/257.html

Mandrake Linux wins Product of the Year at LinuxWorld
http://www.wpi.com/linuxworld/lw-ec-winners.html

Item #6: Trillian makes headway on Linux for Merced - IBM has joined the effort to ensure that Linux will be ready for the Intel IA-64 family of processors aka Merced. Given the fact that Andy Groves (if you don't know who he is, nevermind) made a personal appearance at LinuxWorld to give the first public showing (actually a simulation) of the Merced... so you know that Linux is going to be big on Merced. Anyway, Trillian is a team of top industry companies that are involved in the Linux for Merced effort. Just another cherry on top that you can go read about:

http://www.eet.com/story/OEG19990811S0028

Item #7: Reach, pay drawing developers to Java, Linux - The following story claims that interest in the software development community is turning away from Microsoft Windows. Now where it is going isn't exactly clear but I've got my own sneaking suspicion. :) Read the survey results for yourself: http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,40384,00.html

Item #8: Linuxcare Seals Agreement with IBM to Provide Technical Support and Training for Linux on IBM RS/6000 Systems - Even more proof that IBM is serious about Linux. Get the details at the following URL: http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Cn7d1qbKbytaYmZK&FQ=Linux&SymHdl=1&Nav=na-search-&StoryTitle=Linux

Item #9: IDG Books Worldwide, LinuxWorld Magazine Team Up To Produce Essential Linux OpenBook - Here's an offspring story from the LinuxWorld show. I haven't even had the time to read it myself, so feel free to read it and email me a summary. :)

http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Cn6:JWbKbytaZnd&FQ=Linux&SymHdl=1&Nav=na-search-&StoryTitle=
Linuxhttp://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Cn6:JWbKbytaZnd&FQ=Linux&SymHdl=1&Nav=na-search-&StoryTitle=Linux 

Item #10: Gateway to revive Amiga for information appliances - Yeah, yeah... what does this have to do with Linux. Well, considering that the new Amiga environment is going to be based on Linux, the answer would be, "Everything." Just a tiny little piece on MSNBC of all places: http://www.msnbc.com/news/299752.asp


LOGOUT:

I really want to sit down and devote some time to putting down my thoughts and feelings about the whole commercialization of Linux thing. As with much in life, it isn't a black and white thing and I have many conflicting ideas on the subject... but alas I haven't gotten around to it yet. Bear with me gang.

As always, thanks for reading!

Scott Dowdle

 

 

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