Red Hat Linux

Alan Cox talks exclusively to Builder Australia about the uptake of Linux, Microsoft’s plans to share its source code and his Linux predictions.

You can read all of Alan's responses at ZDNet Australia, where a variety of topics are covered, including an interresting 5-year outlook for Linux.

When Red Hat took on Morgan Stanley as a customer, it found out just how much work needed to be done before Linux was ready for corporate use--a process that's been worthwhile, a Red Hat exec says.

NEW YORK--Red Hat had been arguing for years that its Linux operating system was ready for mainstream corporate use, but the company found out just how much work still had to be done when it took on Morgan Stanley as a customer in May 2001. The process was worthwhile, though, Red Hat Chief Technology Officer Michael Tiemann argued during a keynote speech Wednesday at the Linux show here. Less than two years after the collaboration, Morgan Stanley has 1,000 computers running Linux.

Guru meets grasshopper

"Like most linux advocates, I too have that "interested" friend who wants to finally ditch windows (windows xp) and take the Linux "plunge" (as seen by that individual). After debating with myself over which installation to start him out with, I decided to go with RedHat 8.0 simply because it has been classified as one of the most "newbie" oriented distros thanks to the "integrated" look and the superb documentation, and because it has a free download. Was my choice the right one and how did he react to it? Read on to learn exactly how a person who has never seen linux reacts when a long time user attempts to show that person "the ropes."

(In this review, we are looking for newbie stopping points when they turn back to the dark side because something makes no sense. All of the issues I present are no problem for someone familiar with Linux like myself, but I don't have all Saturday every weekend helping every friend setup Linux. This review is for those people trying to understand how a linux virgin sees the operation system, not a guru. I love linux to death and I wouldn't change a thing...this is simply a reaction by a newbie, just so you get an idea of Linux usability).

Another distro tries to be the simplest one.

Former Red Hat employee Bernhard "Bero" Rosenkraenzer has resurfaced, after leaving Red Hat last fall, with a brand new GNU/Linux distribution meant for the average user. According to the distribution's web site, "The Ark Linux distribution is based primarily upon a Red Hat Linux 7.3 / 8.0 foundation. On top of this, we have added a new easy-to-use installer (an Ark Linux installation is only four mouse clicks away!) and extensively tailored the software applications and utilities included - all in an effort to ensure that Ark Linux provides superior ease-of-use and the features and functionality end users have told us they want."

Stop the presses! Red Hat's making money!

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Linux software provider Red Hat Inc. said Tuesday it earned a profit under generally accepted accounting rules for the first time, attributing its net income to higher server subscriptions. The Raleigh-based company said it earned $305,000 US, or break-even per share, for the three months ending Nov. 30, compared with a loss of $15.1 million, or seven cents per share, in the third quarter a year ago.