> Enhanced Linux is beefed-up shareware > > Source: Computerworld > > Computerworld via Individual Inc. : Linux lives. > > The Unix variant offered for free in stripped-down form over the > Internet is being dressed in suit and tie and sent into the corporate > world by Caldera, Inc. > > Caldera, founded by former Novell, Inc. CEO Ray Noorda, has begun > shipping Caldera Network Desktop 1.0, a $99 operating system designed > to function as an Internet server. > > Tony Iams, an analyst at D. H. Brown & Associates in Port Chester, > N.Y., said Caldera is ``starting with a technical core that is > maintained by freelancers and various enthusiasts.'' In fact, the > development work on Linux continues on the Internet, with users > downloading software, refining it and sending upgraded versions back > onto the 'net for anyone to use. > > But Caldera has gone one step further, trying to break into the > Fortune 500 market with an alternative operating system that is a > beefed-up version of shareware. ``Probably the most impressive thing > about the product is that Caldera has undergone a significant effort > to build a viable business solution based on Linux,'' Iams said. > > Caldera Network Desktop is a NetWare client that works with Windows, > DOS and flavors of Unix. It is being bundled with WordPerfect and > Metro Link, Inc.'s Executive Motif Libraries. There is also a Caldera > Internet Office suite that includes electronic mail and spreadsheets. > > The Orem, Utah- based Caldera is offering technical support and trying > to develop alliances with value-added resellers and independent > software vendors. > > The main attraction of Caldera Network Desktop is price, Iams said. > The company has leveraged the fact that the kernel development was > done for free into prices far below Windows NT at $699, Unix operating > systems from SCO, Inc. at $1,295 or Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Solaris > at $1,995. > > That's what drew Kerry Schwab, systems administrator at Southwest > Airlines in Dallas, to Linux. Schwab said he inherited a project to > put a reservation monitoring system on the Windows NT platform. > > The project ran out of money, but Schwab was able to revive it by > swapping operating systems and then buying preview versions of the > Caldera product for $39. Even at the current $99, Linux is a bargain > compared with the alternatives, Schwab said. > > Dependable, but ... > > The software has been dependable for its purpose, which is analyzing > the performance of the airline's reservation system. But Linux still > isn't ready for mission-critical applications, Schwab said. He said he > would never dream of running the airline's actual reservation system > on it, for example, because it doesn't have industrial-strength > fail-safe and backup features. > > And while Linux has its rabid fans, especially on college campuses, it > still has a long way to go before making a dent in the corporate > world. ``It's a nice piece of connectivity software,'' said James > Greene, an analyst at Summit Strategies, Inc. in Boston. ``It's not > clear to me exactly how they're positioning that connectivity.'' > > Iams said Linux has ``a fair number of users,'' but Caldera has its > hands full going up against industry powerhouses such as Microsoft > Corp. and Sun.
Desktop Operating System War
Windowing Environments and GUIs
UNIX
Information Technology Connectivity & Standards
Open Systems Computing
Open Systems Computing
Information Technology Connectivity & Standards
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