Slashdot Mirror
Has TurboLinux Collapsed?
An anonymous reader writes: "UnitedLinux already is short one founding member. Linuxgram reports that TurboLinux has collapsed." The sources mentioned are all anonymous so far; the TurboLinux website is functioning, and offers no indications that the company isn't also.
and he is no longer working there, they've closed the Santa Fe Turbolabs office.
It looks like Turbolabs is closing all their US offices and trying to sell off their products before they close their Asian offices.
"For a successful technology, honesty must take precedence over public relations for nature cannot be fooled." -Feynman
it was fine until we slashdotted the webserver ;-)
Nice to see Slashdot verifying rumors before posting. If they were not hurting before, causing a panic will sure hurt them now.
This isn't "News for Geeks," this is blatant irresponsible journalism.
Nice job guys.
I don't drink because I have to, I drink to stop the voices in my head!
Hey, it looks like TurboLinus is about as functional as the turbo button on my old computer.
That is a rumor. Untill i hear otherwise from a more notable source, i wouldn't believe it. I dont have a link, but i remember a few years back someone mentioning that redhat would die before releasing redhat 5, in favor of caldera. That was from a semi-reputible site like that link.
"Martha Stewart can lick my Scrotum......do i have a scrotum?" -- Sharon Osbourne
Sounds to me like a non-story, or at worst, an indication that their US operation might contract and the company focus might shift to Japan.
Finding God in a Dog
UnitedLinux already is short one founding member.
Too bad it isn't the one we were hoping for.
slashdot posts stories criticizing, and then this gets modded to troll? offtopic maybe, but not a troll...
I'm sure M$ will be quick to add TBLs collapese to their revamped Linux FUD page. Linux vendors not being there in the long term to provide support and all that.
US-UK-Israel: The real Axis of Evil
should have been "criticizing UnitedLinux". remind me to preview next time....
I think the fragmentation of the linux market is a good thing. Anything that stops a single vendor from having a monolopy is a good thing. So i feel united linux was a good thing. Although I personally feel debian will stand the test of time, resisting red hat for supremacy.
1. Collapse the company
2. Maintain website
3. Profit
I've noticed how every story on /. mentioning united linux has been negative. Objective????
I know somebody who is employed there, and according to them, TurboLinux is going out of biz. They're all waiting for their last paychecks, and apparently employees even had problems with their health insurance not being paid for for the last few weeks.
TurboLinux is no longer supporting or producing new Gnu/Linux software, or related items. Instead, they will be licenising OS/2 from IBM, and producing a new verison called Turbo OS/2. Look for this version in the coming months.
I wonder if a slashdotting will take it down?
-1 obvious joke.
Or how about: the extra bandwidth charges definitely wil put them under.
$_='while(read+STDIN,$_,2048){$a=29;$b=73;$c=142;
From the sounds of the article TurboLinux wasn't doing so well to begin with. Even if this story turns out to be false it might still cause TurboLinux's stock to nosedive completely killing them off for real :(
I stole this Sig
Whats is TurboLinux.... never heard of it.
correction, It looks like TurboLINUX is closing all their US offices. TurboLabs (based in Santa Fe) was a research division. My friend who worked there told me the same info as the article linked to above yesterday at lunch.
"For a successful technology, honesty must take precedence over public relations for nature cannot be fooled." -Feynman
the TurboLinux website is functioning
This is a link to the TurboLinux Web site.
Everyone please go and check to make sure it is still functioning.
There already was a "turbo" version of OS/2. Version 4, I beleive.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Turbolinux may or may not be going under, but if you want consistently anti-linux news, then Linuxgram, not zdnet, should be your first port of call!
Check out the archives on their site...
"Conventional wisdom has suggested for some time that none of the Linux distributions, perhaps not even Red Hat, will survive long-term and of course all of the successive business failures that have happened among the Linux set call into question the commercial viability of the open source model. "
Umm, what the fuck is she smoking. So I guess Redhat et al should just pack it up?
BTW if that's "conventional wisdom" what is Linuxgram going to do based on a business model that reports on these companies?
If you wanna get rich, you know that payback is a bitch
You know a company went down hard when they don't have anyone around to pull the plug on the webserver.
Yeah, i bet the Turbo Linux executives are thinking "Well, we're about to go down the drain why not get the webmaster to put a little note on the homepage even though we can't paid them!"
When there's chaos, who's got time to tell anyone about it??
mv
It sure looks like the hype is over on this Not-Invented-Here Let's-Rewrite-It-All Incorrectly-Too OS that has gone for years without a stable VM or a stable filesystem which ensures metadata integrity (only now do linux fs developers admit that ext2fs is not safe).
here's a release from their world headquarters site...hope this clears everything up...
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson
Of course, Fucked Company does have a "story" about Microsoft's plans to buy Yahoo. Why isn't that also on the Slashdot front page?
cpeterso
I was laid off from Xandros About a month ago.. No final paycheque and those who are left are working without pay..
Objective? This is the site that goes nuts everytime something that places MS in a bad light gets posted. You can't fully enjoy Slashdot unless you meet the following conditions:
- You love *nix and hate MS
- You hate the MPAA, but love sci-fi/fantasy movies
- You want cell phones jammed but don't want free-speech supressed
- You want open source software to be free but are heavily against ad-supported software
There's no objectivity here. Heh.
*Hopes everybody's in good humor when they read this*
I think it is some beowulf clustering softwares for the Linus operating system on which I play my favorite game, DOOM. I think I will be able to keep playing DOOM on the Linus OS even if TrubO Linux goes out of busyness.
Thank you fo ryour time.
And the rumor here has been that they are going under and moving out by the end of the month.
As far as I know, TurboLinux *HAS* no stock. Their "stock" tanking isn't going to put them out of business. Running out of cash to pay their creditors, on the other hand... well...
Send mail here if you want to reach me.
Nice camera.
extra extra, linux is dead
haha
fucking weenies!
Linux is the past. Windows the future.
Fuck you all.
Greetings (chokolatesexy@hotmail.com)
At least when my company tanked, they still had some cash on hand. They paid our last paycheck, plus 2 weeks severence and paid our health insurance until the end of the month.
How did the awful term widgetry, as used in the Linuxgram article, come into wide use?
Outside of GUIs the term widget refers to a meta-thing. But widgetry is used to refer to concrete things: "SuSe Enterprise Server widgetry", "server blade widgetry".
What's wrong with "SuSe Enterprise Server software" and "server blade hardware"? Plus it doesn't reek of "ain't I clever" poserdom.
</rant>
See, by stating the doom of all of these companies it naturally leads to them suggesting you should click on over to their site to watch the crash. They'll of course report on this in great detail and rake in the ad banner clicks.
Sensationalist statements like that could be overzealous reporting, clever marketing, or both. News organizations learned long ago that people don't tune in to watch the everyday mundane. They want sensationalism, tragedy, and bigger than life stories. Just meeting market demand I guess.
This sig has been temporarily disconnected or is no longer in service
If there's no confirmation, and the slashdot editors don't bother to try to confirm themselves, what the hell is the point of posting this? To "scoop" everyone (even though someone else is already carrying the rumor)? Let's save the rumor mongering for fuckedcompany, and (unless it's something really, really interesting) try to report more developed stories on the news sites.
..but good. The weak are being winnowed out and the strong will survive. They coulden't hack it so lets move on to another Linux distro that can. In the end, I think we all know it's going to be Redhat though. A shame as I'm a SuSE guy.
An A/C posts a rumor, and it's modded up to 3?
Yet another beleagured bombshell hit the slashdot community today when it was revealed that Turbolinux may be dying. Linuxgram sent this weeniegram purporting the apparent demise.
And it doesn't stop there! Linuxgram hits home with the realization that all the commercial distros are facing problems, and that's why they were banding together to form UnitedLinux. But a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Now it shows that TurboLinux may destroy the whole UnitedLinux project!
The previous has been a secret message to my comrades.
They're still running? That's wishful thinking, and you know it. Linux will never gain support beyond the hardcore geeks without a single, unified front.
Hey, that's me! Bling bling!
This sad event neatly illustrates one of the problems with OSS--when a company gets in trouble there's very little incentive for someone like IBM to ride in on their white horse and rescue the company. All the key IP is OSS and freely available, and if some big company wants to hire some of the newly laid off people, they can, without having to pay a huge premium for insubstantial and unwanted things like the company name.
In the end, I think we all know it's going to be Redhat though. A shame as I'm a SuSE guy.
I'm a SuSE user as well. I believe they will still be around after the "survival of the fittest" weeds out the lame distros, not only becausue they have a finely polished distro, but also because they are the darling of, and are supported by Big Blue.
So TuboLinux is picked as the Linux distro for 9,700 cash registers at Sherwin Williams, but who is the big winner...IBM because they win the servicing contract. Like it or not, the future of commercial Linux is in either services (consulting, certification, customization, etc.) or per-seat-license type distros. Fortunately there exists non-commercial Linux distros that do not need to show a profit to stick around. No need to impress the VC; no need to mislead the press to preserve market valuation. If lots of people are using the distro then that is good...if not then that is fine too because the maintainers are still using it. It brings images to mind of the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail who gets his arms and legs chopped off and still believes he is invincible.
It says it all.
Hmm, let's see:
1. The economy is tanking, thanks to some large corporations' fearless leaders and the fact that our national fearless leader is just another one of the corporate fearless leaders who are causing the economy to tank (Oh, the logic, the logic!);
2. TurboLinux tries to make a living selling something which not only do they not own, but is readily available for free from innumerable sources;
3. They have a bunch of highly overpaid PHBs who don't contribute much at all to generating income for the company (How do I know this? All companies have too many PHBs who don't contribute much at all to generating income for the company. Just look at your own company and figure the ratio of income generators vs. non-income generators and then factor in salaries;)
4. Their otherwise free product for which they charge dollars is sub-standard when compared with the other _commercial_ Linuxes with which they compete.
Hmmm, just doesn't add up to a working proposition. You do the math; does it work for you? I don't mean to be mean or to be an asshole or to troll, but sheesh, if the writing on wall were any bigger they'd have to borrow more wall.
Everything in the Universe sucks: It's the law!
I bought TurboLinux and can honestly say it was the worst distro I ever installed. Nothing worked correctly. Tech support was abysmal.
Of course, that's just my experience and maybe someone with a newer distro had better luck.
If you're working for a company focusing on Linux, you'd be wise to spend your lunch hours updating your resume and dreaming of how you'll spend your unemployment checks.
Speaking of going down, last night I picked up a drunk ho. Turns out, she was having her period, and I didn't want to get my dick all bloody, so she went don on me.
-- Horny Smurf
It's just the annouement of the release of Turbolinux Security Server 7 NetSnipper... But maybe you just can't read japanese.
Has anyone checked out their home site.
<a href="http://www.g2news.com>www.g2news.com</a&g t;
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
Success, of operating system for desktop like this half free Linuxes, is not in hands of hackers, but true content based programs and firms that provide such software.
Games, entertainment, education, information systems, all these programs have an added value, have a CONTENT (will never be free). And the decision of where this programs will be published are in hands of the big publishers. So do you even think that Disney, Hasbro, Warner will ever publish on system that constantly lowerage digital rights, that is driven by hackers ?
NO WAY MAN !
Be off TurboLinux, we don't want you, public want play games, want rich education programs and so on, not free, no business hacker's OS !
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Stop trying to hold back the tides. Let the BS and the truth come out at its own pace, and stop pretending there is any value in controlling it.
If all the Turbo Linux codes are GPLed, (I'm assuming, so don't sue me, please !) then is it possible for another entity to pick up the entire T-Linux codes and move on ?
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
Ymessenger for Linux is cool. Would Yahoo continue offering an IM program for Linux users if MS owned it?
http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/graph?site=www.turbo linux.com
Looks like TurboLinux.com was upgraded to PHP 4.2.1 today.
But maybe it was just thier webhost (XO.COM)
"With Microsoft, you get Windows. With Linux, you get the full house" - unknown
Last I checked most high-tech businesses were hurting pretty bad. It seems fairly intuitive to me that the current economy will probably cause the weaker for-profit Linux offerings to die off.
If somebody made a list of all the Windows based hi-tech offerings that went bust last year... anyways, nobody would read it because it'd be too long and boring.
Personally, I see Suse and Redhat at the end of this tunnel-- hopefully Mandrake and Connectiva also-- as there'll always be the none-commercial/niche offerings. Also, it doesn't hurt to point out that the free distros existed and thrived well before the commercial ones, just as they do now.
Silly rabbits.
Do not spread "09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0" over the internet, thank you.
Turbo huh ... commercial *nix has been playing fast and loose with its market - can I say spitting at home Lusrs? Sure I can. You give us pain we return it. So ... we don't spend on your egodriven, low-beta swill and you go titsup turbo. Whose next?
Why don't use TurboLinux icon?
This was inevitable as conflict between Turbolinux (who have recently released a product calleed PowerCockpit) and Caldera (whose former CEO was named Ransom Love) over who has the `sexiest' business threatened the UnitedLinux alliance.
I know I shouldn't kick cripples, but here is some free investment advice re: msft.
;)
It is currently trading at $51.11 a share with a PE ratio of 44.8, which is insanely high, indicating downward pressure. That $51.11 price is only $3.61 off of it's 52 week low of $47.50 and it has flopped around in the 50-70 range for the last two years. It started the year in the 70's so it has DROPPED YTD, not risen 18% as you stated. It has fallen from a high of about $120 in late '99 so many longer term investors probably aren't exactly happy and employees with options certainly aren't happy campers. The only good news is that it IS up from where it started on the 5yr chart so in this bear market that is at least something. I certainly know I'd rather have had MSFT instead of the shares of WorldCom I bought in '00.
Democrat delenda est
As another poster replying to this post stated so nicely, the people being responsible for IT at Sherwin Williams will be pissing their pants. Even if both they and the project survive this, they will put a big shiny plate over their bed "Nobody ever got fired for buying Microsoft". And Microsoft has a great case for demonstrating their point that all open source companies are on the verge of collapse and one is insane for choosing Linux for a large project over the nice reliable offerings from a laaaaarge and seemingly undestructible company.
Noone will mind that there perhaps still is support from IBM. And if they really want to switch distros on all their new systems, well...
I guess I won't see them there on January 29th-February 1st. Oh well, at least they still have plans to attend. http://www.turbolinux.com/news/events.html
"On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero."
The sources mentioned are all anonymous so far
In other news, we've been receiving a large number of annonymous posts that author Stephen King was killed outside his home in Maine.
This place is run by GPL hippies(tm). Accept it.
Ultimately, as long as there is a demand for Linux, one, maybe two, commercial distros will survive. There certainly isn't room in the market right now for more than that. Reality is, all you Linux lovers should be thrilled that some of the less successful distros are failing. That will bring more attention and resrouces to the few that are successful. Survival of the fittest. And those of you who regard Red Hat as evil probalby use Debian. Problem solved.
bance.net
I agree with what you're saying, but for different reasons. In order for Linux to be successful as a Windows replacement, they'll need to think down some of the 'choices' you have. I'm not saying remove them, but maybe hide them in another layer so more advanced users can find theM? I dunno.
I installed Redhat and it came with like 6 text editors. As a newb, that was a bad time to hit me up with choices. It's the type of thing I'd like to come to on my own.
I realize this flies up against the way the Linux community feels, but they may discover it's a necessary evil. There are ways to handle it tho. How about labeling one distro as the 'default im a newb Linux user' and labelling the others as more advanced?
*Shrug* I'm not the answer man. Heh.
If one goes to the TurboLinux website and clicks through to news and events, there is a new entry there for today, 7/19/02. In that entry it talks about a new agreement to provide Linux for IBM mainframes. If they were going under immediately, why would they enter into this agreement?
I remember scanning japanese netblocks for insecure linux boxes with , and once and a while I'd come across a abandoned turbolinux box.
Japs liked turbolinux because it came with a jap manual but nobody else around the world was dumb enough to (buy|download) it.