"Shortly after its server rebranding announcement a few weeks
ago, the company went one step further with Linux, announcing that
TurboLinux would be available on all of the new eServer product
lines. This means that users can now get Linux support on four
different hardware architectures from IBM."
"What is entirely new here is the availability of TurboLinux on
IBM's AS/400 midrange servers - a platform where no other Linux
distribution has ventured. Some analysts have predicted a slow
death for the AS/400, due in part to a declining base of IT
professionals with AS/400 administration and programming skills.
The availability of TurboLinux on this well-entrenched platform
could breath new life into the AS/400. Midsized enterprises now
have an alternative database server platform besides Unix or
Windows NT to run supply-chain management or enterprise resource
planning applications."
"No one was ever fired for buying IBM" is an old saying in
the corporate computing ranks. With Big Blue and Linux now so
closely intertwined, it seems the word "IBM" in that IT adage could
soon substituted with "Linux."
