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NETFLASH: BREAKING NEWS FROM NETWORK WORLD FUSION
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By Michael Cooney



If you needed more evidence that Linux (with a Big Blue boost 
from IBM) is moving into the mainstream here it is: IBM this 
week announced it would install the world's largest Linux-based 
supercluster for the Shell Oil company. Shell's Exploration & 
Production unit will use the supercluster, consisting of 1,024 
IBM X-Series servers strapped together as one unit, to run 
seismic and other geophysical applications in its search for 
more oil and gas.



For it's part, IBM has been on a roll with Linux. The company 
recently announced that Keio University in Japan would be 
building two campus networks running 15,000 Linux computers. 
And Telia, the largest telecom company in Scandinavia, said it 
would run its business and consumer Internet services on an IBM 
mainframe running Linux.



IBM has pledged to invest nearly $1 billion in Linux next year. 
And 1,500 software developers are producing Linux versions of 
IBM's varied computer products.



Pretty heady stuff for an operating system that until just a 
couple years ago was dismissed for use with enterprise 
applications.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2000

Answers

Funny thing is that this also legitimizes MSFT's claim that Server Farms under Windows 2000 can do a great deal of things that Main Frames used to do. Terraserver is only one example.

There is another story that Corel has put up for sale its Linux "efforts" which followed right after a big investment from Redmond in Corel. However, MSFT is not stupid. If they have to enter the Linux market, they will do so. At that point, the circle will be complete and I will wish I had studied Unix a lot hard long ago.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2000

Windows is crapware. So is CORBA. Long live UNIX and X11.

-- Anonymous, December 13, 2000