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LinuxCare Gets $32M In Funding
TheFitz writes "CBS is running a story about LinuxCare receiving some heavy backing. Also mentioned in the story is the potential for LinuxCare to go public with an IPO. " Several comments from Sifry and a few other tidbits about the company. Worth a gander if you're curious about Linuxcare.
I think I'm finally ready to say that Linux is a credible threat to Microsoft. I think the change in the last week was an import one psychologically as well as financially.
The business world has not only noticed Linux now (that happened last year), they're firmly behind it. Gone are the days when we have to argue that Linux is just as good as a commercial system--now we can just point to a few billion dollars of investments and say "Obviously they believe it." That's a dumb argument, but it's one that carries weight with non-technical people who don't understand the actual merits of one OS over another.
Finally, all this money pouring into Linux is obviously going to translate into a lot of paid development hours and new applications. That should fill in whatever gaps there are missing in the Linux platform.
From now on, the missing functionality is no longer a liability... it's an OPPORTUNITY.
I've called them a couple of times with problems. I on each ocassion found them to be friendly and smart. They know their stuff. Neither of the reps I spoke with had a problem admiting when he didn't know something, and was always able to go ask someone who did. I think they are a fine company, and I recomended them to my company to contract with for linux support.
Finally... an Intelligent FP :).
Anyway, I think this has the ability to become a very good thing. While we have seen over the past year or so that businesses have started to turn an eye toward linux and then become major invetors, one of the key obstacles to any type of major OS or software is support. Where do the big guys go when they don't have the knowledge or resources available to figure something out? Once an infrastructure like that is in place it filters down to lower and lower levels, IE: smaller corporations and eventually small businesses. I don't thing that it will be long till me get some certification levels and alphabet soup tied to our knowledge. I know a lot of people here are not exactly friendly toward tech. certifications, but like it or not, a lot of not technical managers look to them to gauge a persons worth. Even if we know the certification doesnt mean crap,
Anyway, our time has come. Make your opportunities!
www.mp3.com/Undocumented
Linuxcare Gurus who's who
Include Tridgell, Paul Mackerras(Linux on PPC), Paul Russell(ipchains), the excellent group of people at Prosa, and more on their way!
Andrew Tridgell, [is] a Linuxcare researcher who authored Samba, a piece of programming that makes a Linux server work much like a Microsoft (MSFT: news, msgs) Windows NT server.
like ...what a funny way to spell better!!!
Eric
PS This is humor. Turn off the flame-throwers.
Simple. The corporations get to sell services. Selling a service is usually much more lucrative than selling software. If you have a person charging $100 an hour to troubleshoot other people's problems with setting up Linux, or maintaining Linux, you make a pretty good chunk of change. People who really understand a given piece of software are more rare than many /.ers tend to remember. The Total Cost of Ownership is what we are talking about here, not the cost of initially buying into the software.
When IBM has Linuxcare answer someone's questions, that someone pays IBM $X, and IBM gives Linuxcare ($X - $Y).
B. Elgin
B. Elgin
"Read at your own risk; feel free to ignore."
In case anyone's interested, here's the low-graphics, printer-friendly link.
The answer to his question, of course, is to join the Free Software Developers' Network. The FSDN offers freshmeat access, and a whole bunch of other valuable services, for a mere $19.95 per year. If you're interested in joining the FSDN, just email me your credit-card number and expiration date, and I'll pass along your application.
\end{joke}
--
"But, Mulder, the new millennium doesn't begin until January 2001."
send all spam to theotherwhitemeat@ropine.com
This article also mentions some recent acquisitions by Linuxcare.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/991214/c.html
However, we need to remember that we don't need to justify ourselves. Each of us use linux for whatever reason we want to. I personally don't care if linux takes down windows. It would make me happy as I have a personal vendetta with MS, but as far as the development of linux, it's unimportant.
As linux grows into the masses it is becoming simpler and easier to use. This is a good thing. When people have trouble, they look for support from a trusted name. LinuxCare is looking to be that name.
All of this is well and good, as long as linux stays in touch with it's roots.
It is important to remember what free software is really about. Freedom. Not price.
Don't use VA's IPO, RedHat's IPO, or LinuxCare 32m to justify your use. There is plenty of justification already in place.
I am a 0.99 junkie... :-)
:-)
I am also a smartass, but that is beside the point.
When linux is being covered by Gartner reports and shows up favorably in the "magic quadrant", then it's big news. Many large corporate decisions are made based solely on a simple gartner square with some dots in it.
:()
It sounds silly, but if you're in a big company, and you're pushing a solution or a product that isn't favored by Gartner research, Senior management's going to ask you to re-evaluate and see why $GARTNER_TOP_PICK wouldn't work for the company.
Nowadays, the senior execs have suddenly "DISCOVERED" linux, and now they're looking to form "Strategic Alliances" and establish "linux partnerships" (but the senior execs are still using Windows
anyway, on a related note, I head 3 non-technical women in the movie theater yesterday talking about investment (and the LNUX IPO) and one was trying to explain to the others what linux was. She said "now everybody is trying to learn linux - it's like windows NT but people say it's better and it's free." To me, overhearing that discussion meant more than placement on the gartner quadrant!
Have you noticed that nowadays hardly anyone mispronounces linux?