TechWeb looks at IBM’s LCDS: the program under which developers
can gain access to an account on a mainframe. Though IBM’s
struggling to keep up with demand, says the review, the service is
worth it:
“The Linux development community has already taken a
liking to the program, and the enrollment numbers are impressive.
Unfortunately, IBM has struggled to keep up with the demand because
the program requires that each developer be screened and assigned
his or her own virtual Linux machine with a dedicated IP address
for a limited time. Increasing the resources used to manage the
program should help–impatient developers will only wait so long.But developers should be patient because there’s true value to
the service that lets developers see how Linux-based applications
will run across the Internet.The registration process is fairly painless. The application
collects demographic information along with your choice of Linux
distribution. Only two distributions are included: SuSe and
TurboLinux. (Red Hat is sorely missing from the list, not to
mention others.) As part of the application process, you’ll also
need to describe what you’ll be doing–such as porting or
developing–along with a short description of the project or
program that you’ll be testing or developing.”