From Wired News, available online at: http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,38505,00.html Joining Forces at New Linux Lab by Michelle Delio 3:00 a.m. Aug. 30, 2000 PDT Computer hardware giants Hewlett-Packard, Intel, IBM, and NEC are joining together to fund an independent, nonprofit laboratory to help speed the development and testing of enterprise-targeted Linux projects. The Open Source Development Lab will offer access to high-powered hardware and a wide range of software to developers of new and existing projects that utilize open-source licenses and conform to the accepted open-source development models. Caldera, LinuxCare, Red Hat, SuSE, TurboLinux, and VA Linux will provide support staff and resources for the lab. Eric Raymond, a longtime open-source advocate, and Brian Behlendorf, co-founder of Apache, have also announced their support of the project and are already developing applications for use in the lab. "The Open Source Development Lab will help fulfill a need that individual Linux and open-source developers often have: access to high-end enterprise hardware," said Brian Behlendorf, chief technical officer of Collab.net and co-founder of Apache. "It's great that these companies are coming together to help accelerate development for this environment," he said. The companies backing the lab anticipate that the first ODSL ventures will range from tools for development to kernel projects u- all with a focus on getting more businesses to adopt open-source technology by making it easier to deploy and use. "Linux is maturing faster than anyone expected, but it still needs to mature further before mission-critical applications will be appropriate for all customers," said Daniel Frye, program director of IBM's Linux Technology Center. "This lab will provide a much-needed testing environment that mimics a real-world infrastructure with large servers (and) complex networks, linked to pervasive devices." The lab, which will be based near Portland, Oregon, is expected to open at the end of the year. It will be governed by an independent board, and its management will include open-source proponents as well as Hewlett-Packard (HWP), Intel (INTC), IBM (IBM), and NEC. Lab staff will not focus on creating new projects themselves; instead, they will help accelerate existing or new open-source projects. An independent executive director will be employed by the lab to implement policy, make funding decisions, and work with developers to select projects. The initial lab projects will be officially announced later in the year after an open, neutral process for choosing projects can be formulated and agreed upon. "The strength of Linux and other open-source projects derives in large part from the collaborative spirit of its developers, many of whom wondered if any of the big companies who are suddenly backing open source would participate in what has been dubbed the 'Gift Culture,'" said John Markham, a Linux developer. "Happily it looks like at least some of them are willing to give as good as they get," he said. Related Wired Links: It'll Be an Open-Source World Aug. 15, 2000 Developers Warm Up to Linux Watch Aug. 9, 2000 Brand New Life for Linuxcare Aug. 2, 2000 Linux Books for You and Mom Aug. 1, 2000 Disney 'Goes' to Open Source Jul. 26, 2000 Copyright 1994-2000 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved. _ Philippine Linux Users Group. Web site and archives at http://plug.linux.org.ph To leave: send "unsubscribe" in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
