First Central Lab for Linux Research Planned:
A Popular Operating System Picks Up Support From Big Computer Companies

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 29 -- Thousands of computer hobbyists and software
developers who together honed the Linux operating system from their homes
and small offices could soon have their first central physical lab for
testing new versions of the operating systems and application programs
built to run on it.

In a validation of the growing popularity of Linux, Intel, I.B.M.,
Hewlett-Packard and several other computer companies plan to announce
Wednesday that they will jointly create and finance a laboratory for
developing and testing advances in the onetime renegade operating system.

Working with prominent Linux developers and promoters, the companies said,
they plan to open the Open Source Development Lab in Portland, Ore., by the
end of the year, then create several satellite offices around the country
to support it.

The companies were vague on details, like the size of the lab, how much it
would cost and how much the project's backers would invest. The backers
said the lab would be run by an independent director who would essentially
choose which projects would be emphasized and which software would be
tested, although they suggested that the laboratories would be accessible
to Linux developers at large.

And they have said the lab will be designed in particular to create
Linux-based versions of software to be used on superpowerful servers that
automate corporate financial and human resource and customer service
backbones.

These functions, known as enterprise software programs, are one area where
Linux has not made significant inroads in the last year, despite strong
growth over all in the operating system's market share, which also includes
World Wide Web servers and servers for small and medium-size businesses.

Linux developers, industry analysts and participants in the project said a
leading reason Linux had not been moved onto these superpowerful computers
was that Linux programmers have not had access to the hardware needed to
experiment with and test new programs.

"When you look at what it takes to build a true enterprise solution, the
typical Linux developer does not have access to that kind of hardware,"
said Michael Tiemann, chief technology officer of Red Hat Inc., a leading
Linux company, based in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. "This is
an opportunity to extend our success and results."

Linux is what is known as an open-source operating system, meaning that the
code that underlies it is publicly available. That contrasts with
proprietary operating systems, like Windows NT, whose underlying code
Microsoft does not publicize.

Advocates of the open-source movement in general say that making the code
available permits hobbyists and professional engineers to tinker with it,
find bugs and improve the software.

Mike Balma, the open source marketing director at Hewlett-Packard, one of
the investors in the lab, said the far-flung contributions had made Linux a
very stable operating system, and one in increasing demand from customers.
He said, however, that Linux developers' lack of access to high-end
hardware had meant that Linux was not built to be scaled to a level needed
on the high-end enterprise servers.

But Will Swope, a vice president at Intel, which proposed the idea for the
lab, said its creation would accelerate development of Linux-based
enterprise software.

Generally, Linux's share of the server operating system market has grown
strongly. In 1999, it held 24 percent of the market, up from 17 percent the
year before, said the International Data Corporation, a Framingham, Mass.,
market research firm. International Data found that the market share leader
both years was Microsoft, with 38 percent in each year.

Dan Kusnetzky, vice president for system software research for
International Data, said that beside helping Linux, the lab might also
benefit Intel. He said Intel had not been perceived as a leader in the
field of enterprise servers and that it could help its reputation by
promoting and financing the development of stable Linux-based systems.


By MATT RICHTEL
Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company
"http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/08/biztech/articles/30linux.html"

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