By Jacqueline Emigh
Linux Today Correspondent
Contrary to some expectations, January 25th, 2005 went by
without any news about the rumored creation of a new consortium to
rewrite the Linux kernel. A press conference took place to roll out
a new initiative around Linux development, but without any speakers
from IBM, a company originally slated to team up on the event.
Held in Beaverton, Oregon, with participation from the state,
the city, and the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), yesterday’s
press event focused on the establishment of the Open Technology
Business Center, a new facility in Beaverton billed as supporting
the “formation, funding and growth of new companies” in the Linux
and open source sectors.
In an early advisory about the January 25th rollout, media were
told that an announcement of a project code worded “Operation Open
Gates” would be issued jointly with IBM–and further, that an IBM
VP would be on the speaker list.
But on January 23rd, two days before the event, the venue was
abruptly switched from the IBM Campus in Beaverton to the Kingstad
Center, also in Beaverton. A call-in line was added, too, for
national and international journalists opting not to journey out to
Oregon to hear the news.
Coincidentally or not, around ten days before, Linux Business
Week had published an article by Maureen O’Gara–also linked to by
Linux Today and other Linux publications–claiming that the January
25th announcement of “Operation Open Gates” would be about the
creation of a consortium to “rewrite the the components in the
Linux kernel that, it has been alleged, tread on other people’s
IP.”
O’Gara named IBM, Intel, the OSDL, “and other leading lights” as
participants in the purported kernel annnouncement.
Yet in interviews with other media–also linked to by Linux
Today–OSDL officials hotly denied O’Gara’s assertions, maintaining
that no plans to rewrite the Linux kernel are in the works.
As it turned out, the actual press conference yesterday had a
largely regional flair. Several of the originally scheduled
speakers did appear, including Beaverton Mayor Rob Drake, who
served as moderator, and Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, who talked
up the center as a mechanism for building up Oregon as a magnet for
high tech business.
“The region’s soil is rich in open technology resources,”
according to the Governor, who referred to the Open Technology
Business Center as a “greenhouse.”
Jean Bozman, VP of research at Framingham, MA-based IDC,
presented Oregon’s regional business community with background
facts about the cost advantages of Linux OS and open source, as
well as about applications in government, retail and other
industries.
On the other hand, OSDL CEO Stuart Cohen, another scheduled
speaker, said he hopes the new facility will be the first in a
series of similar centers to be set up throughout the world, to
help stimulate regional economies while supporting development of
localized Linux-based software.
The OSDL is currently in discussions with Beijing, China about
establishing a similar facility there, according to Cohen.
LaVonne Reimer, recently hired as the Beaverton center’s
director, touted the program as an incubation facility, dedicated
to open source development, for companies, strategiests, lawyers
and educators.
But Reimer also announced Virginia-transplant Stunt Technology
as the Oregon center’s first “venture in residence.” She said, too,
that the center will unveil its first “innovator in residence”
three or four weeks from now.
Speakers also mentioned in passing that both IBM and Intel have
development centers located in the Beaverton vicinity and that OSDL
is situated there. Cohen noted that he’d been born and raised in
Beaverton.
But throughout the event, officials made no mention of
“Operation Open Gates,” and they delivered no details about Stunt
Technology’s orientation or activities. Accounts in local and
regional publications described Stunt as a small software
development firm specializing in embedded Linux for the consumer
market.
Officials took no questions from journalists during the
event–either over the phone or in person–saying that questions
would instead be handled afterward on an individual basis,
beginning today.
Also according to information released by officials yesterday,
the new center was established with $1.2 million in funding from
the city of Beaverton.