“Suits and ties, big-name brands, slick marketing presentations
— the corporations are everywhere at LinuxWorld.
Maybe it was the live penguins brought up on stage for no
apparent reason. Or perhaps it was the surprise appearance by Intel
Corp. Chairman Andy Grove during a keynote.
Whatever it was, a quick look at the suits wandering through
LinuxWorld Expo made it abundantly clear just how corporate Linux
is becoming.”
“It hasn’t quite reached the bikini-clad dancing-girls realm
occupied by huge shows such as Comdex. But it could be headed that
way.”
“…for many, making Linux corporate is a good thing. After all,
more business interest means more corporate bucks for Linux
upstarts such as VA Linux Systems Inc., Red Hat Inc., and
TurboLinux Inc. It also means more of a thorn in the side of
Microsoft…”
“Culture clash or melting pot
The challenge, however, is melding the two cultures.
So far, Linux advocates say it’s going well. ‘I’ve been very
happy with the way the commercial people have worked together with
the technical people,’ said Linux’s creator Linus Torvalds… Many
longtime Linux advocates said it comes down to educating the
traditional companies about the open-source model.”