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Then came a draft report issued by the President's Information Technology Advisory
Committee recommending the U.S. government support "open-source software as an
alternative path for software development." (The group had issued an earlier report saying
that U.S. programmers couldn't meet the growing demand for software.) Irving Wladawsky
Berger, an IBM executive and a member of the committee, was quoted in the New York
Times in August 2000 as saying, "I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that the internet
and open-source initiatives are the free-marketplace way of dealing with the extremely
complex software issues we are facing."
Meanwhile, one of the industry's key trade publications weighed in—again. "We're happy to report that leveraging Linux with Oracle8i Release 2 to support e-business applications is a solid bet," wrote Maggie Biggs in an August 2000 InfoWorld Test Center review. Oracle has now ported all of its enterprise-level software to Linux. Oracle also plans to extend the internet platform for mobile computing by delivering Oracle8i Lite for Linux as well as providing all of its latest enterprise-class software for Linux, including Oracle9i Application Server (formerly iAS) and the Oracle E-Business Suite. "Although DB2 companies are traditional IBM customers centered on Big Iron, IBM's recent port of its enterprise database to Linux means that more cost-effective hardware options are now available," wrote Mario Apicella of the InfoWorld Test Center. The summer ended with another announcement: the creation of a laboratory in Oregon where open-source programmers could fine-tune Linux for high-end, multiprocessor systems. IBM, NEC, Intel, SGI, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard would fund the effort. And the news kept coming. Sun announced plans to purchase Cobalt Networks, a manufacturer of Linux-based server appliances. IBM researchers were running Linux on a wristwatch. Linux accounted for 10 percent of Dell's server sales. Nokia revealed plans for Media Terminal, a product that combines the internet and digital TV. And Red Hat announced support of NetSilicon's internet appliance. Through it all, Microsoft has been watching with a keen eye. During the government's antitrust trial against Microsoft, a key Microsoft witness—Richard Schmalensee, dean of the Sloan School of Management at MIT—noted that major manufacturers were already writing applications for Linux. "When those applications are completed, I believe it will be viable in a way that it's not now—and that's a matter of months, not decades," said Schmalensee. And, on the Microsoft Web site, you can find "Linux Myths," details of how Microsoft Windows deactivates Linux, and job announcements for Linux product managers. start | Previous | More |