Linux Gains Footholds

 
 
By Peter Galli  |  Posted 2004-08-18 Email Print this article Print
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


The German city of Munich also recently voted in favor of its plan to switch to Linux from Microsoft Windows, but that move is on hold while possible open-source patent issues are being investigated. Read more here about the patent concerns. Linux continues to gain footholds in U.S. governmental organizations. eWEEK recently reported that the latest stateside governmental win for Linux is the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, in Washington, which provides administrative support, program management and policy development services to the federal courts.
But Microsoft has been fighting back and has been actively lobbying governments around the world to shun open-source applications and Linux.
To that end, Microsoft last January announced a new global initiative to provide governmental agencies with access to Windows source code under its Government Security Program, designed to "address the unique security requirements of governments and international organizations throughout the world." And this January, Microsoft also launched a new advertising campaign, referred to as "Get the Facts," that aims to give customers information about the advantages of using its Windows operating system versus Linux, its open-source competitor. Click here to read more about Microsofts Get the Facts campaign. Adding to the competitive desktop pressure is the fact that Suns Java Desktop System is also available on Microtel PCs from Wal-Mart. It includes Suns StarOffice productivity suite and is currently available on Linux. It also will soon be available on the Solaris operating system and on thin-client solutions from Sun. Suns StarOffice productivity suite, a key component of the Java Desktop System, is also gaining momentum in global retail, with 2 million copies sold by its German partner, Markement GmbH, and a multimillion-dollar deal with Japanese computer products distributor Sourcenext Corp. to provide the Japanese version of StarOffice software, StarSuite 7, to 25,000 retail locations in Japan and via Internet downloads. Sun also recently reached an agreement with the Indian state government of Haryana and secured a 10,000-seat win with the United India Insurance Company. Check out eWEEK.coms Linux & Open Source Center at http://linux.eweek.com for the latest open-source news, reviews and analysis.

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Peter Galli has been a financial/technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has been Investment Editor of South Africa's Business Day Newspaper, the sister publication of the Financial Times of London.

He was also Group Financial Communications Manager for First National Bank, the second largest banking group in South Africa before moving on to become Executive News Editor of Business Report, the largest daily financial newspaper in South Africa, owned by the global Independent Newspapers group.

He was responsible for a national reporting team of 20 based in four bureaus. He also edited and contributed to its weekly technology page, and launched a financial and technology radio service supplying daily news bulletins to the national broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, which were then distributed to some 50 radio stations across the country.

He was then transferred to San Francisco as Business Report's U.S. Correspondent to cover Silicon Valley, trade and finance between the US, Europe and emerging markets like South Africa. After serving that role for more than two years, he joined eWeek as a Senior Editor, covering software platforms in August 2000.

He has comprehensively covered Microsoft and its Windows and .Net platforms, as well as the many legal challenges it has faced. He has also focused on Sun Microsystems and its Solaris operating environment, Java and Unix offerings. He covers developments in the open source community, particularly around the Linux kernel and the effects it will have on the enterprise.

He has written extensively about new products for the Linux and Unix platforms, the development of open standards and critically looked at the potential Linux has to offer an alternative operating system and platform to Windows, .Net and Unix-based solutions like Solaris.

His interviews with senior industry executives include Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Linus Torvalds, the original developer of the Linux operating system, Sun CEO Scot McNealy, and Bill Zeitler, a senior vice president at IBM.

For numerous examples of his writing you can search under his name at the eWEEK Website at www.eweek.com.

 
 
 
 
 
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