“Dr. Irving Wladawsky-Berger talked recently about Linux, Java,
security, and other hot high-tech topics with TechWeb News editor
Barbara Darrow. Dr. Wladawsky-Berger is vice president of
Technology and Strategy for IBM Enterprise Systems.”
“Q: Microsoft has spent so much money
convincing people that Win 2000 is enterprise ready. But all we
hear about is Linux. Has Windows lost its steam?
A: Windows has its place but Linux is
definitely a huge story — and a new story. I also talk to
customers a lot about OS/390 and the next release of AIX, AIX 5L.
That and Windows 2000 is more business as usual, the next releases
of proprietary OSes.”
“Q: Do you see Linux as a net loss to
established Unixes?
A: We’ve come way beyond that … We have
an integrated Unix strategy based on Linux and AIX, and use Linux
wherever Linux is appropriate and AIX wherever that is
appropriate. … With Linux 2.4, we’ll be able to support four
way really well and start pushing into eight way. … Where Linux
is really good is lots and lots of Internet applications, Web
servers, distributed functions in the networks, service provider
applications. … Linux does really well in supercomputing because
many of those applications scale by putting a switch in place and
clustering. “