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."