HP all set to get Linux going

Adam Pasick

NEW YORK: Computer and printer maker Hewlett-Packard Co. wants the

alternative operating system known as Linux to be secure, and to be virtually

everywhere.

Hewlett-Packard is set to announce on Wednesday new security software for

Linux, whose inner workings are freely available in contrast to the dominant

operating system, Microsoft Corp.'s Windows.

The company will also launch a new platform, called HP Chai-LX, to develop

Linux applications for small consumer devices like stereos and cell phones.

"It's a major move for HP," said Giga Information Group analyst Stacey

Quandt. "They're defining themselves as supporting Linux products beyond

what other hardware manufacturers are offering."

Corporate giants such as Hewlett-Packard and International Business Machines

Corp. have embraced the counter culture-tinged Linux in recent years as the

operating system has become more popular, especially for use in large server

computers.

And just as Hewlett-Packard sees Linux at the top of the computing food chain

- the target market for its new Secure OS Software, which goes for about $3,000

- the company also sees it emerging at the low end, where it can be cut down to

size to run consumer devices such as Hewlett-Packard's new de100c

Internet-enabled stereo.

"You can take Linux and shrink it down to the core set of components you

need," said Martin Fink, general manager of Hewlett-Packard's Linux Systems

Operations. Because of Linux's open-source license, Hewlett-Packard must release

the source code of any modified version of Linux.

Linux was originally conceived as a way of rewriting the classic Unix

operating system to avoid costly licenses and restrictions, and Linux now

threatens to eclipse its programming ancestor. IBM told developers last week

that it would consider eventually dropping its Unix variant, AIX, in favor of

Linux.

Hewlett-Packard, however, has no such plans. "We've got a multi-OS

(operating system) strategy," said Fink, adding that users in sensitive

computing environments "don't just change because there's a cool new

operating system out there."

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.