IBM bets on Linux

IBM this week further extended its support for the Linux operating system by

making all its network computers compatible with the operating system which IBM

sees as superior to Unix or Microsoft’s Windows for future Internet commerce.

IBM will configure its four lines of computer servers to work with Linux. The

announcement all but lifts Linux to the level of a mainstream business solution

and diminishes any claim by Microsoft that the OS is not suitable for serious

enterprise consideration and adoption.

The new push into Linux "puts the world"s leading server vendor on a

side other than Sun and Microsoft, which are opposed to open standards and which

favor closed, proprietary operating systems," said IBM spokesman James Sciales.

"We believe that open standards are the key to the next-generation of the

Internet, and Linux is where we"re placing our bets." IBM senior vice president

Sam Palmisano said IBM will be "engaging closely with the Linux community

to help Linux evolve by making IBM technology available to the Linux and open

source communities."