Anonymous Reader writes: LinuxIT has announced that it
has signed an agreement to acquire the business interests of 01Linux Solutions
Ltd, a UK-based Linux support and consulting company.

The acquisition strengthens LinuxIT’s position as one of the leading Vendor-neutral
solution providers in Europe.

01Linux has marketed itself extensively as a solutions and services provider
and has acquired a reputation for quality offerings based around excellent technical
expertise.

Peter Dawes, Managing Director of LinuxIT commented, “This move comes on the
back of another year of excellent organic growth by LinuxIT and is in accordance
with LinuxIT’s strategy of developing a complete offering to individuals and
institutions looking for Open Source solutions.”

“The integration of 01Linux into LinuxIT will further add to our Support and
Professional Services offerings. We are now offering Total Linux support for
all types of customers ranging from one server through to corporates with hundreds
of mission critical systems. Combined with our bespoke development, porting
of applications to Linux and our educational offerings, this means that LinuxIT
is in a unique position to service the growing demand for Linux and Open Source
know-how.”

Chris Alberry, Managing Director of 01Linux adds, “I am delighted at the new
venture with LinuxIT. I am sure that our customers at 01linux will benefit greatly
from the merger of our business interests and will be reassured that they will
now be supported by one of the largest Linux solutions providers.”

Customers with existing support contracts with 01Linux have been advised, and
will now be supported by LinuxIT Professional Services.

About LinuxIT

LinuxIT is one of Europe’s leading vendor-neutral solutions provider focused
exclusively on Linux and Open Source technologies. LinuxIT delivers solutions
which incorporate turnkey systems (pre-configured hardware), training, consultancy,
software and enterprise-level support and expertise. Founded in 1998, LinuxIT
has its headquarters in Bristol, United Kingdom, phone +44 (0)117 905 8718.

For more information on LinuxIT visit http://www.linuxit.com.

About 01Linux

01Linux Solutions offers customers complete end-to-end systems and support.
01Linux has marketed itself extensively as a solutions and services provider
and has a reputation for quality offerings based on excellent technical expertise.
01linux also offers a comprehensive range of support services, from registration
of a single incident to 24×7 coverage.

For more information on 01Linux visit http://www.01linux.co.uk

About Linux

The last five years has seen a rapid expansion in the use of Linux by business
and institutions. Attracted by a winning combination of high reliability, high
power and low cost, thousands of forward-thinking enterprises have left behind
the license-laden world of proprietary software for the freedom of open source.
Linux is the fastest growing Server operating environment.

The Netcraft Web Server survey (http://www.netcraft.com/survey) based on over
25,000,000 sites reports that over 60% of all web servers world-wide are running
Apache on Linux. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other names and
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:

Peter Dawes, Managing Director, LinuxIT
peterd@linuxit.com
Phone – +44 (0)117 905 8718
Fax – +44 (0)117 905 8818

State
attorneys general say
they are determined to
pursue the antitrust case
against Microsoft, even if
the Justice Department,
under President-elect
Bush, tries to back away. From ZDNET.

jeramy b smith writes “penguinppc.org, the home of the PowerPC Linux port, presents an editorial on the idea of a PowerPC Linux specific non-profit. This idea has been tossed around, exploited, and abused and now penguinppc.org takes an in-depth look at what this would really mean.”

Locked in a supercharged race
with giant rival Intel Corp., Advanced Micro
Devices Inc. is introducing a speedier new
version of its Duron chip for personal computers, this AP report at MSNBC tells us.

The Seattle Times reports that the
federal judge who ordered
Microsoft split in two last
year compares Bill Gates to
Napoleon – even musing that
the company founder should
be required to write a book
report on him – and said
Microsoft executives behave
like children.

LinuxNews.pl wrote to let us know that there’s a project afoot to merge certain OpenOffice components into the GNOME
component system. Read more at OpenOffice.org.

LinuxNews.pl writes “A month ago WaPark – polish company that is installing pay parking system in
Warsaw, Poland, anounced that is finalizing the deal with polish cell phone
operators, and will be reade to set up SMS Parking System. You could simply
pay for your parking time via SMS! Read more on LinuxNews.pl“

– By Grant Gross –

It almost looked like a spoof at first, but the long-awaited release of the Linux 2.4 kernel finally happened this week. Linux godfather Linus Torvalds announced the release in a slightly goofy email that had some news people wondering if it wasn’t really a joke.

But it wasn’t. The kernel’s about a year later than scheduled, but it’s here, making for a ton of stories this week. Several news sources commented on the lateness of the project, including Wired.com, which had put the kernel on the Wired News Vaporware List just weeks earlier.

If you’re waiting for 2.4 to be pre-installed on a box, you might wait for months, according to ZDNet. Hardware manufacturers say they’ll wait for the Linux distributions to work 2.4 into their packages before loading it on machines. Distributions told eWeek they’ll wait for the early bugs to be worked out. The folks at the world of ZD/CNet also talked to Linus himself, who says he’s planning a house-warming party to celebrate the new baby.

Lots of Linux sites reveled in the history. Advogato suggested Linux fans put their excited moods to good use, by helping test the new kernel. Linux Today asked readers what they’d change about Linux.

Really, there was other news this week

Yes, this week wasn’t all about the 2.4 kernel. Linux also went to Hollywood, with several sites reporting that the movie “Antitrust,” to be released this month, features shots of the Gnome desktop in a tale of a huge technology company in the Pacific Northwest that “will stop at nothing” to keep control of the computer market. Hmmmmm, sounds slightly familiar. Where have I read about something like that from real life?

If you’re looking for something other than Linux news, check out this opinion piece at BSD Today in which the author rails against “misunderstandings and misinformation” on TuCows, the major download site.

New at NewsForge this week

Columnist Julie Bresnick profiles William Stearns, senior research engineer for the Institute for Security Technology Studies at Dartmouth College. Even nice boys can use Linux, she decides.

News editor Tina Gasperson reviews the paper, Grokking the GIMP and the site, Gimp-savvy, finding them useful tools for artistic types using Linux.

Hardware reviewer Jeff Field looks at the Logitech Wheel Mouse Optical and mostly likes what he sees.

NewsForge editors read and respond to comments
posted on our discussion
page.

Cristian R. Arroyo writes “Newcomers may expect great changes in Red Hat 7.0, wondering if this is going to be ultimate release that will make them turn to Linux for good. Let’s see if Red Hat 7.0 delivers what it promises and lives up to the expectations of the seasoned Linux user in this new review at Planeta Linux Argentina (in spanish).”

AbiWord is reviewed in detail by Linux Orbit. “AbiWord is the crown jewel of AbiSource at the moment, and the developers take great pride in the fact that Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) presented them as a potential competitor during their antitrust case.“