USA Today and NYT on Linux rising 157
prostoalex writes "USA Today notices significant rise of Linux in the high-end enterprise environment. Although it doesn't provide obligatory pretty pictures, the paper mentions the projects at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and NASA. Also if you've missed the New York Times Google article of the day, the expose on John Doerr from Valley's venerable KPCB talks about venture fund investing $12 million in LinuxCare. NYT quote: "That's a freight train I wouldn't want to get in front of," said Mr. Doerr, explaining the importance to having a stake in a Linux-based venture. "Probably get run over.''"
Please not another linux rising story... (Score:5, Insightful)
This isn't suprising now, is it? (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure, it can also be the *BSDs, but there's no denying that Linux is where the growth is much, much more rapid.
Within the space of a few years, Linux already has feasible clustering technologies and tremendous kernel-level improvements (as can be seen in the 2.6 series).
Those who can't see "the Linux advantage" in this area are just blind, or choosing to see it as a competitor to their traditional solutions, and not as a potentially profitable and cost-effective tool that it really is.
Re: USA Today and NYT on Linux rising (Score:5, Insightful)
However, $12 mil is too small in today's world. The LinuxCare website does not have any customer testimonials listed. Neither is the website itself too impressive - gives you the impression of a startup. Will it crawl, walk and run? Only time will tell.
But what's important is the disparate, yet collective impetus for individuals and organizations far and wide, into a solution that doesn't exist as a single dominant entity, but feeds upon the ever-increasing converts (or zealots).
Let's hope, with time, not only is Linux's use spreads to corporations, but also it becomes usable and acceptable by newbie users. We all know how great and brilliant Linux is, but the true acceptance will come the day first time computer buyers will go and buy a Linux pre-installed PC.
Freight Train (Score:1, Insightful)
Or be riding it on if it derails.
Linux is DYING (Score:5, Insightful)
I'd be full of shit, but it would be about as substanciated as some of the articles posted here on Linux lately.
Re:Please not another linux rising story... (Score:3, Insightful)
Research lab != enterprise computing (Score:5, Insightful)
Please try GNOME 2.6 and get informed! (Score:0, Insightful)
Intel has open sourced their centrino drivers, NVidia and ATI all have drivers so driver problems are now extermly rare!
Re:Another Day... (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes I did. My comment on the desktop was slightly off topic, yet still related. But my point is still valid. How long have people been saying that linux/unix is the OS of choice for corporate servers? It's not that admins don't know about linux, it's that they just don't know how to use it. You wouldn't want to install an OS as a server that you knew nothing about, now would you?
I've talked to many other admins, and they all love the performance Linux adds to servers. But again, they just don't know how to administer linux, so they use IIS or whatever. Plus, in college, they don't teach Linux. I know at Purdue, all the classes are Visual Studio, IIS, etc. Why? Because MS gives the bookstore education copied of all their software. MS keeps the market cornered not because they are a better OS, or because linux is unknown. They dominate because they target the prime group. Students studying to be the future admins of the world.
Progress (Score:1, Insightful)
At the expense of HP-UX (Score:5, Insightful)
The rising tide of Linux at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory came at the expense of the HP-UX. And why not? The PNNL (and NASA) employ a significant number of engineers and computer scientists at high expense. They can justify having them work on computer projects such as customizing or modifying the operating system. I would expect them to "roll their own". Using open source probably has saved taxpayers a significant amount of time and money, and may benefit us all.
Most fortune 500 companies do not have the FTE allocations to bring in computer scientists, and instead look for packaged products and solutions.
Bottom line: Yay for Linux!, but this is not business news.
Government using unix derivative - not newsworthy (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Old! :) (Score:3, Insightful)
Given the context is the written word, and that documents will (hopefully) persist beyond one week - the reader probably won't know that the document was written in 2004 unless the document says so.
Re:begs the question ... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Freight train? (Score:2, Insightful)
Not that I think Google will fail...but a massive rush of investment into Linux businesses could lead to another serious round of hype.
Re:The best quote! (Score:2, Insightful)
I like linux as much as the next guy (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:King of the Unbiased (Score:1, Insightful)
Again.
Re:Please not another linux rising story... (Score:3, Insightful)
Say. You don't suppose Slashdot expressed a pro-Linux bias well before OSDN got involved, do you? Funny, that.
Re:At the expense of HP-UX (Score:3, Insightful)
Which is why outfits like RedHat and IBM offer their services.
Re:Didn't they already go bankrupt once? (Score:3, Insightful)
You present a mixed message there that really is not fair to Google. They have been private and profitable for quite some time and to lump them in with "companies with no real business plan" does not help your point.
What you point should be, imo, is that many people walking around with capital, with MBAs, or those writeing about these events have no real clue about what is really going on with IT technology and instead play there strategies off buzzwords and watered down reports.