“Given the populist support for the Linux operating system,
Linuxcare would seem like a top candidate to sell stock to the
public. Not so fast, says the company.”
“”We don’t want to go out there as a concept kind of company,”
Sarrat said in an interview with CNET News.com. Instead, Sarrat is
busy signing Linux-support contracts so the company has a solid
revenue stream before launching an IPO. Linuxcare, which provides
technical support and training for Linux, is raising enough in
corporate investments “to have enough flexibility to pick our IPO
time whenever we want next year,” he said.”
“What’s going on here–sober, rational thought in the midst the
hype that surrounds Linux?”
“”I think Linuxcare is being very pragmatic,” said Giga
Information Group analyst Stacey Quandt. Many stock traders are
“following the hype and not as aware of what Linux and open source
is about. They hear about Red Hat going public, and they think
there is an opportunity for them as well.””
“Sun Signs up Linuxcare”
“We’re entering in to the desktop service area a little faster
than we had intended, but we feel the services we have been
providing at the server level are well enough oiled right now that
it is prudent,” Sarrat said. “The relationship with Sun is such
that we just couldn’t pass up the opportunity,” indicating that
Linuxcare was also working with Sun to write Linux drivers for Sun
peripheral hardware.”