"Linux Island is holding on for dear life, and its
president is making payroll out of his own pocket while the company
waits for more capital from the increasingly scrawny pool of
investors willing to give it up for an Open Source-based business
plan.
Rob Walther, the president of Chicago-based Linux Island, had to
ask 26 interns to stay home when the company -- which provides
Linux certification classes, on-site support, and pre-configured
Linux systems -- ran out of money. "We'd known August was going to
be a short month," says Walther. "We told everyone to hold on,
until financing comes through." Walther says that he also had to
let go of "four or five" full-time staff.
Interns are those who successfully completed Linux Island's
certification classes. Included in the $3,995 price tag for those
who make it through the training is a six-month full-time
internship working at Linux Island. Now those interns are without
employment before the six-month period has expired."
