The Linux and Open Source Marketing Board

This short interview on KDE.NEWS talks to Anthony Kolasny, an IT Architect at the Center for Imaging Science at Johns Hopkins University (JHU) in Maryland, USA. He talks about how the University is using KDE not only as its desktop environment, but for the KDevelop integrated development environment (IDE). Check it out.

Christian Einfeldt, over at the Digital Tipping Point, has thrown down the virtual gauntlet and started an online petition where signees request that Microsoft sue them first. Or to put it another way, "Hey, Microsoft! Put up or shut up!" To add your name to Christian's list, head over to his Sue me first Microsoft list.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is migrating to Linux. Francis Feldman, vice president of NYSE's technology arm, said that the move cut the cost of transactions in half. He didn't give actual numbers but was quoted as saying that there were "serious financial savings, very serious." To read all about it, click here to visit Techtarget.

Follow this link to view Christian Eindfeldt's four-minute proof of concept video titled "The Digital Tipping Point".

Apparently, desktop Linux is pretty exciting for HP these days. An article from the ChannelWeb network quotes HP exec Doug Small as saying, "We are involved in a number of massive deals for Linux desktops, and those are the kinds of things that are indicators of critical mass. So we are really looking at it very hard. We are in a massive deal right now for ... multi-thousands of units of a desktop opportunity for Linux. That's an indicator." For more on this story, click here to read the ChannelWeb story.

Another interesting article from Information Week. This one cites sources at the Federal Aviation Administration who say they are considering abandoning Microsoft Windows for Linux running the new Google business office suite. Fascinating reading at this address. Let's hope the FAA follows through with this line of thinking. Linux and Open Source is good for business and it's good for all of us.

Information Week reports that the US Department of Transportation has put a moratorium on all upgrades to Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system. This includes Internet Explorer 7 and Microsoft Office 2007 as well. From the article, "In a memo to his staff, the DOT's CIO Daniel Mintz says he has placed 'an indefinite moratorium' on the upgrades as "there appears to be no compelling technical or business case for upgrading to these new Microsoft software products. Furthermore, there appears to be specific reasons not to upgrade." : Read more

The Globe and Mail has an interview with Novell Canada's Katie McAuliff (president of Novell Canada). In her interview, McAuliff says, "The Linux desktop is a complete blast. This market just went to a million downloads. It's hot, it's cool, it's a lot less expensive, the kids are loving it. School systems have some great desktop operating systems — it's also in kiosks, retail systems, point-of-sale systems. A lot of those systems are being refreshed now, so the best thing now is really lowering the cost of ownership, increasing return on investment. : Read more

SUSE Linux (and in turn, Novell) has just signed a contract with Peugeot, Europe's second-largest car manufacturer, to install and deploy Linux on 20000 desktops and servers. Coincidentally, or not, this announcement comes at the same time as Microsoft's release of Vistam, its new Windows OS. Read the entire story on the Technewsworld site.

According to an article in Computerworld, "Nearly half of all enterprises will be running mission-critical business applications on Linux in five years' time. That's according to survey of IT directors, vice presidents and CIOs carried out by Saugatuck Research, which questioned 133 businesses worldwide." That's a pretty impressive market penetration for Linux. There's no mention as to whether this includes desktop applications, but the indication is that is relates to server software. Click here to read the whole article. : Read more