“IT Week: What is your view of the
development of Linux?
Dell: I see Linux as a great alternative to
proprietary Unix. Some of our customers would say it’s a great
alternative to Windows. What we believe is that over time the
proprietary Unix market will lose out to Linux. The trend is away
from proprietary operating systems. … The workstation market has
moved to standard x86 machines as they have taken on
supercomputer-like performance. I think the same will happen to
Sun’s leadership in servers. The combination of Linux and Windows
2000 will get us there.”
“IT Week: What is the position regarding Dell’s
investments in other companies?
Dell: We created the Dell Ventures group and
there are about 90 investments where companies are looking at
things like servers and storage, tools that are going to help
people get online…. Linux has been a focus with companies
including Linuxcare, VMWare, Collab.Net, Red Hat, Turbo Linux.
They’re to fuel the main business and to widen the reach into new
and emerging areas.”