UpFRONT

LinuxWorld was bigger then ever with all the vendors making major announcements. Here are a few of them:

Corel (http://www.corel.com/) presented a preview of its new Linux distribution, called Corel Linux, which will be available in beta in September. Installation is automatic, completing and then asking for special configuration options, such as networking and Ethernet. It includes a GUI for LILO and partitioning of the disk, two to eight virtual desktops, a file manager, new applications built on top of Debian and KDE and easy upgrade facilities.

KeyLabs (http://www.keylabs.com/) came to LinuxWorld to talk about their product testing and certification programs. Testing is focused on hardware compatibility with Linux and is vendor-independent. KeyLabs has been in business since 1996 providing independent, cost-effective testing for the network industry. It is a member of the Canopy Group.

Alpha Processor, Inc. (http://www.alpha-processor.com/) launched its strategic partner program to bring high-performance Alpha applications to enterprise customers worldwide. API provides chip sets and motherboards to manufacturers and is focused on mid-range servers and high-end office workstations. Companies already involved in this program to expand the number of Alpha applications include Cygnus, MySQL, Covalent, Atipa, the LinuxStore and several of the major distributions. Pricing is fast becoming comparable to Intel.

theLinuxStore (http://www.thelinuxstore.com/) launched its PIA (personal Internet appliance) and Element-L Linux-based product line. The PIA provides Internet access, e-mail and word processing, all for $200 US without a monitor. theLinuxStore also offers Alpha solutions from API. It is a subsidiary of EBIZ Enterprises.

Knox Software (http://www.arkeia.com/) showed off its Arkeia backup product on a huge flat screen—the gauges were awesome. Arkeia provides job management, e-mail and a new command-line interface. It is aimed at mid-range market (ISPs, government, et al.) and provides parallel network backup, multi-tape/multi-node restoration, on-line index, security and a distributed client/server architecture.

Magic Software (http://www.magic-sw.com/) came to the show with two South African penguins last seen in the second Batman movie. Magic announced it has ported its e-commerce solution eMerchant to Linux. Previous ports had been done of their development tools that provide a multi-platform database environment to speed development of business solutions. The development kit for Linux is freely available for the single user.

ParaSoft talked about the new versions of CodeWizard and Insure++ that will be coming out by the end of September. RuleWizard, an extension for CodeWizard 3.0, will give developers the option of creating their own rules and will also be out around that same time. A beta version of their new Java testing tool, jtest, will be available in October. ParaSoft products are multi-platform, working on Linux and other UNIX systems as well as Windows.

The Motorola Computer Group is announcing a unified Linux strategy that provides our OEM customers with a broad selection of Linux-based platforms, open-source software, service and support, training and integration services. In support of this broad initiative, we're collaborating with two leaders in the Linux community: Lineo and Caldera Systems. —Noel Lesniak, Business Manager of Linux Telecom Platforms for MCG

The Motorola Computer Group, of which we are a part, has a large emphasis not only in telecom but in other embedded devices. They are a large system-board vendor, both Poser PC-based and X86-based, both of which we'll be targeting with our embedded Linux solution, Embedix. —Brian Sparks, CEO of Lineo

(For complete statements by Mr. Lesniak and Mr. Sparks, as well as Ransom Love, CEO of Caldera Systems, see http://www.linuxjournal.com/articles/misc/005.html).

Pictured (from left to right) are Robbie Honerkamp, Steve Lewis, Jon “maddog” Hall, Greg Hankins, Antoni Dabed, and Reg Charney. Will World Domination be bearded instead of televised? These fellows seem to think so!