[ Thanks to ken chaney
for this link. ]
“HP Chief Scientist Joel Birnbaum addressed a crowd of Open
Source supporters at LinuxWorld in San Jose, California, August 16.
In his keynote address — “Linux Evolution: IA64, E-services, and
Beyond” — Birnbaum talked about HP’s Linux strategy, e-speak,
pervasive computing and a future filled with Internet appliances
that all run on a version of Linux.”
“We believed for a long time that the open client /server
systems at the heart of our business, coupled with the power of a
global Internet, are evolving naturally to a standards-based
information utility. We think of this as having the characteristics
of any of the other always-on utilities that have transformed
modern life; producing the benefits that come from secure,
reliable, ubiquitous, enduring standards; and producing the
economic incentives that have resulted from other infrastructures
that enabled pervasive technologies.”
“Linux and the Open Source movement are necessary key elements
of our strategy. Of course, we have a very large base of installed
UNIX and Windows/NT customers and we will continue to support them
and help them make the best choice of operating system for their
current and future needs. The three operating systems are of
different maturities, are differently optimized at this time, and
have different numbers of applications and services available. We
feel that they will coexist for a long time, and in fact, it is our
strategy to help them do so. It is very apparent however,
that the growth rate in both usage and functionality is far
greater for Linux than the others, and that it will become the
system of choice for many in this decade.”