Since its failed plan to merge with Linux distro TurboLinux earlier this
year, San Francisco-based Linux services provider Linuxcare Inc. has been
quietly regrouping and aiming its efforts toward last week's unveiling of a new
tool for the provisioning and configuration of large-scale Linux deployments on
mainframe systems.
What chance do young companies in the open-source application server space have today?
Full J2EE servers are outside the open-source province, but handy application servers, XML modules and servlet engines -- often in commercial packs -- hold ground.
A second preview version of the much-anticipated Lindows operating system shipped
last week, but users said the latest implementation still cannot run Microsoft
applications, the ultimate goal of creator Linux.com, and few expect a final
version to ship as scheduled this spring.
Open source software continues to win adherents among a range of software developers,
but especially among corporate coders, who tech watchers said are transforming
it into a standard way to build and deliver software. Analysts at Stamford,
Conn.-based research and consulting firm Meta Group predict that the trend will
continue and strongly urge IT development units to be ready for it.
IT managers look to corporate portals to provide access to masses of data from a single screen; technology is seen as key in progression from Windows to Web desktop.
GNOME and KDE—two feature-rich and mature desktop environments—are vying for the hearts and minds of Linux users.
Leveraging the borderless nature of the Internet, overseas developers have found that it is a small world after all.
While providing savings in IT staff and equipment and letting you focus on your core business, ASPs do present real risks that must not be overlooked.