Week of March 20

Come Embed With Us Not too long ago we told you about the formation of the Embedded Linux Consortium (ELC), a group of companies, organizations and individuals whose mission is to raise the level of attention paid to Linux in the embedded space. Today, we let you know that the RTC Group (an organization that manages exhibitions and conferences) and LinuxDevices.com are co-sponsoring the Embedded Linux Expo & Conference (ELEC) and have put out a call for papers for the event's first technical get-together. Not just anybody can submit, however. The conference coordinators are insisting on "Chief Technology Officer or equivalent senior technical experts" as presenters. Also technical papers should address "integrating Linux and Linux-related technologies into embedded system applications." "Immediate technical value" is your key to win and get in! E-mail rick@linuxdevices.com for more information.

Chili!Soft: Better Tasting, Less Filling?  Yesterday we learned Red Hat, Lineo and VA Linux aren't the only Linux companies gone koo-koo for cool acquisitions. Cobalt Networks, Inc. has announced its takeover of Chili!Soft, maker of, well, "Internet server technology that allows Web pages to be interactive." Chili!Soft, by the way, was voted "Best Internet/Intranet/Extranet" by conference attendees at the recent Linuxworld Conference. It's Chili!Soft Active Server Pages was also recently made available for Linux users. Said Stephen DeWitt, president and CEO of Cobalt Networks, Inc. "The hosting market is driven by Web-based applications. By integrating Chili!Soft Active Server Pages technology to Cobalt's server appliances, we believe we will bridge the gap between Microsoft development tools and the Linux operating system."

Do you ... GLUE? Well, we sure do--in spite of recent fears to the contrary. In fact, not only do we GLUE, but we want you to, too! First, check out the Linux Journal's GLUE page on our Website for information about GLUE (that's "Groups of Linux Users Everywhere") activity in your area. Second, if your area happens to be anywhere in the Seattle vicinity, consider dropping by the Bellingham Linux User Group's Linux Fest, Saturday, April 15th, from 1 to 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and will be held at Bellingham Technical College. The link should provide you with directions a-plenty. According to Bill Wright, treasurer of the Bellingham Linux User Group, demonstrations will include "everything from distributions, apps, lan gaming (!!!), installs, business and home uses ..."

Caldera Can't Catch a Break: Caldera's IPO cat is out of the bag and, surprise! surprise! it's an old-fashioned tabby and not the Bengal Tiger some analysts were expecting. Shares in Caldera, Inc. rose over 80% in their first day of trading on Tuesday and, as of Wednesday morning, shares had climbed to $26.87, about $12 above the intial offer price. Of course, the spin on the Caldera IPO is in overdrive. When Caldera's stock behaved respectably (i.e., an 80%-plus return after the first trading day), the pundits panicked: "Hmmm, no Red Hat, eh?" they chime, tongues a-clucking. At the same time, these pundits suggested that the relatively tame share price might be indicative of some rationalism entering the Linux equity market (did I just write "Linux equities market"?!). A relatively balanced take is available, as usual, at The Register. CNET's story isn't bad, either.

"Pay No Attention to the Sales Report Behind the Curtain!" Tom Fox-Sellers of SCO wrote in to let everybody know that the Santa Cruz Operation has shuffled its corporate deck. Essentially, SCO is dividing itself into three, well, "divisions": one focused on e-Business servers, another focused on Tarantella and a third dedicated to Internet Professional Servers. The new divisions will be led by David McCrabb, Mike Orr and Jim Wilt, respectively. Said Doug Michels, president and CEO of SCO, "It is now time to reinvent SCO ... By operating these organizations as independent divisions with their own revenue and profit objectives we will be able to better develop each business appropriately and so maximize shareholder value." Funny that you mention that, Doug. Because on the same day we read about the mitosis of the Santa Cruz Operation, we also see that the company is warning investors and analysts that second quarter sales will be "significantly lower" than the company had originally anticipated and, more importantly, below analysts expectations, as well. "I am disappointed that the market for our UNIX server software has not recovered as quickly as we expected following the Y2K period," said Doug in a statement.

SuSE Real Good :Is there much to say about the fact that SuSE Linux 6.4 is scheduled to ship on April 3? The new version of the popular, European-based Linux distribution is being hyped as the easiest to install of all the distributions, due to an improved graphical installation tool that includes more automatic hardware detection (a boom for many Linux newbies), as well as a "Quick Start" beginner's manual with step-by-step screen shots. SuSE Linux 6.4 also has features for the more sophisticated Linux hacker, such as XFree86 4.0 (not installed as a default, according to SuSE's CTO Dirk Hohndel, due to instability issues), NVIDIA, S3 and 3D chipsets from Intel. Other features include the SuSE Proxy Suite, SuSE's open source firewall tool and FTP proxy, and the journaling Reiser-Filesystem. More technical information ("more technical! more technical!") can be found at SuSE's site here.