Slashdot Mirror
Preparation for LinuxWorld Heats Up
BoomZilla writes "Numerous stories abound regarding next week's LinuxWorld in San Francisco.
Reuters has published a report about Sun's upcoming
announcement at the show. Apparently Sun will be revealing its first
general-purpose, low-end Linux machine, and its own version of Linux. In another
article CBS MarketWatch
reports that IBM and RedHat/Dell will also be making major announcements." It'll at least be interesting this year with Microsoft
having a booth. I'll be there as usual, but without a booth, so maybe we can
russle up a party somewhere for Wed night? Anyone know a good place? Perhaps that serves Guinness & Bodingtons? Also, go see the Golden Penguin Bowl since
I'm a contestant this year and will undoubtedly embarass myself terribly.
Huh? Another distro? What could Sun's edge over the others be is what I'm wondering. Companies like SuSE/Mandrake already have the low end, RedHat does the middle and Solaris has the high end. So is there going to be a high end Linux?
Oh! Here's an idea. Perhaps McNealy sees this as a chance to return to the Network Computer idea (not a bad one in itself) by having thin client machines running XFree. Suns Linux could be like the LTSP distro.
that this Microsoft booth will put the whole OSS community into serious trouble.
We all know these ultra zealots like RMS et al. These people have only a little self-control if they are writing about closed source systems.
What will such people do if they see a MS booth at the Linux world ?
If they get mad and storm it and chase the poor MS employees around, it will be very easy for the MS PR department to portrait all OSS supporters as raving half-terrorists. This might result in Bush creating laws for prohibiting OSS at the US (at least at universities and colleges).
So they MS booth might provide much harm for OS systems. There is even the possibility that MS especially planned such events.
Owner of a Mensa membership card.
They cannot be so naive as to think they are going to go to such a convention, hoping to win followers. What they are doing is tantamount to inciting a riot for exactly the reasons you stated: many open source zealots have no self control. (Come on, we've all gotten fired up from a conversation with a half-witten MS drone.) This is no different from going up to PennState's main campus, standing in the college town, shouting "PennState Football SUCKS!" then throwing a garbage can. It will cause a riot. Microsoft standing in at a Linux convention, shouting "Open Source SUCKS!" then throwing thriw software around. It's no different. Hopefully, no violence or misbehavior will come of this. (MS, afterall, are certainly paying their dues to have a booth.) However, if it does, the picture will be painted and open source gets its credibility knocked down a thousand points.
What needs to happen is exactly the opposite, and it needs to be documented. There needs to be a few groups of well-educated indivudals who know software and the market well. They need to go to that booth, followed by a few idiots with cameras, and demonstrate a clean, friendly, intelligent conversation with the MS people. Nobody needs to trip anyone else up. Either party needs to show respect, and if MS can't do that all the better. It will make open source supporters appear mature, level-headed, and above all else, credible in a corporate sense, especially since both sides will ask the tough questions.
Why bother.
There's a little pub right across from the Metreon on Mission st. that serves guiness (and I think boddingtons), that's the closest one I know close to Moscone. Alternatively, there's a pub with pool tables on Columbus about half way between North Beach and the wharf that serves $2 guiness draws on weekdays! FYI.
It's gotta be Kate OBrians in San Francisco - the perfect place for geeks to meet up! Its located a mear 2 short blocks from the convention center, they let in all those underage geeks, its has great prices on food (and great food too - a steak sandwich to die for)and most importantly, guiness on tap! And if you're nice to the beautiful bartenders, you can get them to play whatever music you want over the sound system. There's also wireless access for all right next door~ See ya there!
I would not be so quick to just write off another Linux distro.
It may be very important that it comes from SUN.
And, it is not because Linux needs another distro either.
Rather it is because SUN will package hardware and software and sell the package to corporate accounts. HPaq, IBM and others do not do that. DELL is beat up by the criminals running Microsoft everytime they try.
But, SUN has not deal with Microsoft. They do not have to squeeze terms out of the illegal operation. They can just put together the hardware/software that works and works well and begin their marketing. And, Linux on the desktop needs that very much.
When corporations start buying 1,000 orders of SUN Linux and boxen, the other OEMs in the business will be forced to tell Microsoft to stuff their obusive terms. And, that will make all the difference in the world.
Do you really think Hpaq and IBM is going to just let SUN have all the corporate business for Linux on the desktop? Hpaq does offer a few Linux desktop solutions but they are limited. And, they are not across the board.
That dynamic can all change when SUN enters that marketplace. And, selling linux desktops does not erode their service business either. That would be the entry into a market which they presently do not participate in. And, that could be more significant than SUN adding itself to the list of Linux Server suppliers.
What will they do? Ignore the corporate desktop market? Or, package a fine white box, Linux and StarOffice? And, sell, promote and support them by the thousands? That is something that HPaq and IBM do not do.
NexuSys - Linux support by the best
Interesting to see that the Slashdot booth went from the huge right-next-to-the-front-door booth with piles of beanbag chairs and the PT Cruiser to.. well, as Taco said, no booth at all.
I wonder if SGI will be there at all. They used to have cool booths.
The free t-shirt count has dwindled too. Kind of sad to see Linux World Expo shrinking year after year.
How come Dell is still in the mix if they are not allowed to sell machines without an MS operating system inside anymore? How does that fit?
The article was rather horrific in it's content.. it was rather straightforward Linux-bashing by for example some nameless 'analysts', and it was generally filled with misinformation. And the article came from Reuters.. I would have expected something better from them.
:(
Please read the article (link to Sun's announcement), and if you agree with me, send your warm feedback to Reuters.
E
PS. Can I be labelled as 'Anonymous loginchallenged person?'. Slashdot refuses to let me sign in on my account