“While promising to support every major version of Linux, an IBM
executive has downplayed the possibility of Linux becoming a true
alternative to the Windows operating system, according to reporting
in the June 28 issue of Sm@rtReseller. In an exclusive interview
with the newsweekly for today’s channel, IBM software general
manager Steve Mills conceded, `We don’t see it as a big client
play. (Linux) does not have the usability features or the
graphical-user characteristics of a desktop operating system.'”
“Mills indicated support for Caldera’s OpenLinux, and its effort
to offer near-binary compatibility between AIX and Linux. According
to IBM, the binary work will permit developers to write a Linux app
that requires only minor modifications to run on AIX, and vice
versa. The work is slated to be completed in time for AIX’s debut
on Merced, Intel’s forthcoming 64-bit chip.”
[ This is a press release, issued through PR Newswire and
paid for by Sm@rt Reseller, a Ziff-Davis publication. -lt ed
]