[LUAU] News Article: Intel throws weight behind

Angelo Alvarez angelo at hula.net
Mon Mar 1 14:14:10 PST 1999


Wasn't sure if anyone saw this one.

Here's where I got it ;?)
http://www.news.com/News/Item/0%2C4%2C33025%2C00.html?dd.ne.htmldisp.hl.ne

Intel throws weight behind
    Linux 

    By Stephen Shankland
    Staff Writer, CNET News.com
    March 1, 1999, 4:40 a.m. PT 

    update VA Research is receiving an investment from Intel and
    has acquired the coveted Linux.com domain name for use as a
    portal site dedicated to the Unix-like operating system.

    The announcements are expected to occur this week at the LinuxWorld
    Conference and Expo in San Jose, California. VA is expected to help
    get Linux running on Merced, the first chip based on Intel's
    next-generation IA-64 architecture, sources said. 

    Intel's Linux-related investment, on the heels of others, furthers
the
    chipmaker's support of operating systems other than those developed
    by Microsoft. 

    In a related announcement, database maker Oracle plans to make an
    unspecified equity investment in Red Hat Software, according to the
    Wall Street Journal. Red Hat sells the operating system along with
    customer support. 

    In another boost for Linux, Silicon Graphics, Hewlett-Packard, and
other
    companies are expected to join in a show of support for the
fast-growing
    OS this week. 

    HP, a partner with Intel in the IA-64 chip plan, also has pledged to
bring
    Linux to IA-64 chips. SGI's Intel-based Visual Workstations get a 15
    percent to 30 percent performance benefit from graphics capabilities
in
    Intel's new Pentium III chip, and SGI has made part of its OpenGL
3-D
    graphics system available to the open-source community--the group of
    programmers who have helped make Linux successful. SGI also is
    working with Red Hat and others to make OpenGL useful under Linux. 

    Obtaining the Linux.com domain is a coup for privately held VA
    Research, which has sold Linux computers since 1993. The company
    plans to use the domain for a general-purpose Linux site, complete
with
    archives, technical information and news. VA Research will maintain
the
    site and it will be governed by an advisory board from the Linux
    community. 

    The address has been registered to Linux developer Fred van Kempen.
    Sources said competition for the domain name was intense. 

    VA Research spokespeople declined comment on whether it had
    obtained Linux.com or whether it would receive an investment from
Intel.
    Spokespeople for Intel could not be reached for comment. 


    Although VA Research faces increased competition as giants such as
    IBM, Compaq Computer, Dell Computer, and HP join the Linux trend,
the
    company is holding its own. VA, for example, was able to offer new
    Pentium III-based systems Friday--timed with the debut of the new
chip. 

    [an error occurred while processing this directive]In a previous
interview,
    VA Research chief executive Larry Augustin said part of his
company's
    goal is to help the Linux community push Linux into heavier-duty
    hardware systems, where many processors are running side-by-side. 

    Intel's move boosts Microsoft competition
    Intel's stake in VA Research comes less than a week after the
    chipmaker teamed with development tool company Cygnus Solutions to
    bring support for new Pentium chips to Linux software development
    tools. Five months ago, Intel announced an investment in Red Hat,
which
    sells distributions of Linux packaged with other software and
technical
    support. Acting like a venture capitalist, the chip giant typically
makes
    minority investments in these companies. 

    Intel executives have said the support for Linux is part of the
company's
    plan to make its chips the "unifying architecture" that many
different
    companies choose as the hardware beneath their operating systems.
    Intel is helping Microsoft, Sun Microsystems, Santa Cruz Operation,
    Compaq, and others port their operating systems to IA-64 chips. 

    "They don't care what it's running as long as there's an Intel chip
inside
    it," said Tom Henkel, an analyst with Gartner Group. 

    When computer users are demanding a new operating system, Intel
    wants to make sure that the OS works on Intel chips, Mike Pope,
    manager of enterprise software programs at Intel, has said
previously.
    That's why Intel invested in Red Hat and Cygnus. 

    Microsoft concedes that Linux poses competition but claims that the
Intel
    investments aren't a threat. "We have to earn our way in the
marketplace
    every day," said Ed Muth, group product manager for Windows 2000. 

    "We have always had a good relationship with Intel," Muth said.
    "We understand the business opportunities Intel perceives [that
    are] unrelated to Windows." 

    He added that Microsoft has taken similar steps by selecting
    non-Intel chips for Windows NT and Windows CE. Muth also
    argued that Linux competes more with Unix operating systems
    than it does with Windows, and "most of the world does not want to
    run Unix, particularly on their desktop." 

    But some analysts think Microsoft downplays the threat. The fast
    growth of Linux "has come at the expense of Windows NT and
    second-tier Unix vendors," Gartner's Henkel said. 

    Linux has hit a sweet spot by offering Unix reliability without the
    high price. "Customers are opting for the blue light special over
the
    blue screen special," Henkel said, referring to the Linux's low cost
    and the "blue screen of death" that displays when Windows NT
    crashes. 

    News.com's Jeff Pelline contributed to this report. 
-- 
--------------------------------------------------
Angelo Alvarez (angelo at hula.net)
http://www.hula.net/~angelo
http://home.hawaii.rr.com/alvareza/kona_frame.htm
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