Sun Backs Linux Group

[Mario Camou <mario en Sunmexico Sun COM>]

De las noticias de ayer...

Sun Backs Linux Group

Date: 23-05-98
Source: TechWeb
Subject: Sun Backs Linux Group

Linux got a huge boost this week after Sun joined the board of Linux
International, the organization dedicated to promoting the free Unix
operating system earlier this week.

Sun has no plans to bundle Linux with its workstations, although a SPARC

version of Linux is available, nor will it support end users directly.
But
Sun said it will support vendors of commercial Linux products, like Red
Hat
and Caldera. Sun will also provide assistance to the people doing a port
of
Linux to its UltraSparc processors. "There are users out there who want
to
run Linux on UltraSparc platforms," said Charles Andres, a group manager
at
Sun. "So if they already decided to run Linux, we would love to have
them
buy UltraSparc machines."

The move could later translate into more support for Sun's Solaris OS
when
users may decide they need a more highly scalable OS, which comes with
every Sun workstation anyway, Andres added.

Linux enthusiasts were jubilant. "It simply validates us even further,"
said Mark Bolzern, a Linux International board member and president of
WorkGroup Solutions, a developer and reseller of Web server software in
Aurora, Colo. "I believe that Linux is the next generation of Unix and
it
hasn't quite taken its rightful place yet, but will."

Bolzern said Linux enjoys a great deal of support from developers who
are
writing new code for the platform, and that could benefit Sun. "Linux
won't
threaten [Sun]," he said. "The enemy is Microsoft. What Sun and others
are
doing by joining Linux International is coalescing around something
strong
enough to be the fastest growing OS today."

Tom Henkel, a senior analyst with the Gartner Group, an IT research
firm,
said Sun will gain some goodwill by this move, but more importantly, it
shores up the anti-NT troops. "Anything that is anti-NT is a good thing
from Sun's perspective, particularly if it doesn't encourage Sun's
competitors," he said.

He added that Sun has had a long history of being in favor of open
standards, so the company has some legitimate interest in promoting
Linux.
"It's not like Linux is going to have a tremendous impact on Sun's
installed base," he said. "It's a politically correct thing to do, and
one
that doesn't carry any significant downside."