IBM to Sell Computers With Red Hat Software
IBM Corp. said Monday that it will begin selling computers bundled with software from Red Hat Inc., and joined with Sun Microsystems and other computer makers to back a foundation for creating programs for the Linux operating system.
IBM said it will offer packages that include Red Hat software based on the open Linux operating system with IBM’s database, e-mail and group collaboration software.
“In the first phase, customers can come to Red Hat’s Web site and buy IBM products, then we will begin to combine them into one product,” said Paul McNamara, Red Hat vice president for products and platforms. “I would expect to see joint products later this year and early next year.”
IBM also joined with Sun Micro, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp. in supporting the Gnome Foundation, which will develop standards for creating Linux-based word processing, spreadsheet and other software that will compete with products from Microsoft Corp.
New applications could increase demand for machines running Linux software, boosting sales at companies that provide Linux-related computer hardware and software, such as Red Hat and VA Linux Systems Inc., analysts said.
The Gnome Foundation will be formally announced today at LinuxWorld, a conference in San Jose for companies and developers using Linux.
Linux is a free computer operating system created in 1991 by Finland’s Linus Torvalds. The software’s underlying code is freely distributed, allowing developers to modify the program. Companies that sell Linux-based programs take the free code and modify and tailor it, then charge customers for computers running the specialized software.
Companies such as Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, don’t open the code to their programs. Linux supporters say letting developers freely use and change the product improves its reliability and use.
Linux has already gained ground in the market for computer servers that run Internet sites and corporate networks. Microsoft last year held the lead in new server operating systems shipped, with 38% running Windows, while Linux-based systems were second with 25% of new shipments, IDC, a research firm in Framingham, Mass., said.
One of the challenges for Linux supporters is to create enough easy-to-use programs that consumers will be willing to buy systems that run on Linux, analysts said. Microsoft’s Windows now runs on 88% of all personal computers, while only 4% run Linux, IDC said.
The Gnome Foundation is designed to be a neutral group that will establish standards that developers can use to build software that runs on Linux. Establishing an independent body ensures that no one company can set standards that would make the programs favor its systems over a rival’s product.
“The idea is to get a lot of different companies that are often competitors to work together toward a common vision,” said Bill Portelli, chief executive of Collab.Net, which helps create and maintain sites for computer-program developers working with Linux.
Red Hat Inc. rose $1.75, or 8.7%, to close at $21.81, VA Linux Systems Inc. gained $2 to close at $42 and Corel Corp. climbed 59 cents to close at $3.59, all on Nasdaq.
On Nasdaq, Microsoft shares closed off 25 cents at $72.19 and Sun Microsystems rose $1.88 to close at $114.06. IBM rose $2.38 to close at $123.25 and Compaq rose $1.06 to close at $32.50, both on the New York Stock Exchange.
