Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Linux gains despite and because of Microsoft

Network World

Networking Technology Update




Networking Technology Update, 08/01/07

Linux gains despite and because of Microsoft

By Robert Mullins

Motorola knows that product development needs to move quickly for the company to stay competitive -- and it’s using Linux to hasten the effort.

Get more out of your IT dollar

Business Services Management lets you get more out of your IT investments by aligning business goals and your core infrastructure. Network World Editor-in-Chief John Dix and IDC Research Manager Stephen Elliot examine BSM's benefits and how enterprises are starting to take advantage of this strategy.

Attend now!

“We do all of our advanced technology development on Linux,” says Mark VandenBrink, a Motorola fellow and chief architect of systems software at the company.

Like other phone handset makers, Motorola introduces new models, such as the Razr V8, which made its debut in June.

Software developers are using Linux to build Web browsers, multimedia players and other mobile applications, VandenBrink says. The Linux community can develop new phones with new features quickly for a variety of global markets

“Having the Linux software means we won’t be held up by a software-development schedule. We can actually hit these markets whenever we want to hit them.” Linux, he said, “is becoming ubiquitous.”

At Motorola, 60% of its phones are built on a Linux platform, but it is just one of the companies embracing Linux as a way to build handsets, run servers and desktop computers and deliver other technology.

As the Linux community gathers for its annual LinuxWorld convention Aug. 6 through 9 in San Francisco, growth trends are promising. IDC forecasts revenue from the issuing of new Linux operating-system licenses and support to reach $856.9 million in 2010, from $303.7 million in 2005, for a compound annual growth rate of 23.1%.

According to the numbers, the open source alternative to Windows is becoming more credible.

For more on this story, please click here.

Editor's Note: We regret to let you know that we will no longer be publishing the Networking Technology Update newsletter. The last newsletter will be mailed on Aug. 8. To keep you abreast of network technology issues, starting the week of Aug. 13, you will begin receiving the Network/Systems Management newsletter, which mails every Monday and Wednesday. We thank you for supporting Network World newsletters.

TODAY'S MOST-READ STORIES:

1. NAC alternatives hit the mark
2. Online gamers’ dirty little secrets exposed
3. The Simpsons Movie sparks spam blast
4. Cisco muffles Linksys death knell
5. IBM tells employees to behave in Second Life
6. Hogwarts IT director quits
7. E-mail etiquette question: Thanks or no thanks?
8. Tool tests for phishing-attack gullibility
9. Top 15 'networkiest' moments of The Simpsons
10. Industry giants get 'Simpsonized'

MOST E-MAILED STORY:
Hogwarts IT director quits


Contact the author:
Robert Mullins is a U.S. correspondent for IDG News Service in San Francisco.

BONUS FEATURE

IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details.


PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE
You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today.

International subscribers, click here.


SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here.

This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription.


Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza

Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772

Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007

No comments: