“As linux 2.4 enters another round of testing, SCO is in
negotiations to distribute a version of Linux from
MandrakeSoft.“
“A source close to SCO confirms that the negotiations were
ongoing as of July 13. Officials from SCO and MandrakeSoft, which
is based in France, would neither confirm nor deny the potential
partnership. SCO already offers support services for Caldera and
TurboLinux. Targeting Linux could be SCO’s last hope for branching
out of the Intel-based Unix market. The company on July 10 warned
analysts that its Q3 earnings would not meet Wall Street’s
expectations. Critics say Y2K budget concerns, along with the shift
to Windows NT and Linux, have hammered SCO’s business.”
“Meanwhile, the third test release of Linux 2.4 hit the Web on
July 10, with the final kernel release expected this fall. The
major upgrade could push Linux beyond workstations, low-end servers
and Web servers, to the wider, more profitable world of enterprise
computing. If Linux 2.4 delivers on its promise, analysts say the
operating system will be better positioned to compete with IBM AIX,
HP-UX, Sun Solaris and Windows 2000 for the enterprise. It also
could steal more market share from SCO UnixWare, hence the
company’s interest in Linux.”