“Yggdrasil? Um hmm. Spelled just that way and
pronounced “IG-dra-sil.” In Norse mythology it’s the name of the
tree of life that is said to support the sky. There are a few
places on the ‘net that go into the mythology. However, what’s
interesting to me is the role Yggdrasil Computing played in the
early days of Linux. And even more interesting could be the role
this same company plays in Linux’s present and future.”
“Quite a few people I know — myself included — got their first
Linux experience from the Linux Bible, which hasn’t been updated
since the mid-90s but still has a place on Yggdrasil’s web site.
… In my recollection, the Yggdrasil book was also the first to
include a CD of installable Linux. “It was horrible to install,” my
Starnix partner Matthew Rice recalls, “but back then, it was all
pretty horrible.” Thus, Yggdrasil was one of the first Linux
distributions (dating back to 1992) and it was certainly the first
that was widely available.”
“Adam Richter, head of the Silicon Valley-based company, says
Yggdrasil’s new release of a DVD full of free software is the first
of what could be a number of new products. …this bundle contains
neither binaries nor any distributions — it’s only meant for those
already running Linux. … What Yggdrasil may or may not do in the
future is still a riddle. …something’s coming, we’re just not
sure what.”