Slashdot readers discuss the NetBSD team’s announcement of the NetBSD/hpcarm port of their multi-platform OS. The port runs on
StrongARM-based handheld PCs.

At LWN.net
: “as you may have noticed from earlier postings on these lists, I have
a bunch of patches that change the way knfsd interacts with
filesystems. In particular it makes it possible to export reiserfs
and other modern filesystesm (providing they have been told how to
work with knfsd).

This patch makes some substantial changes to the way knfsd maps a
filehandle into an actual file, and this has been an easy place for
obscure bugs to hide in the past.”

Jon Panker tells us about this story: “Mike Kantrowitz, president of Neoware Systems, a company that makes Windows-based terminals, thin-client computers and related software, said business demand for Linux is skyrocketing. He said businesses are interested in Linux because the free open source operating system is so stable, scalable and reliable.” Read the full story on searchEnterpriseLinux.com.

– By Grant Gross –
QLITech, which is taking over the recently defunct Tuxtops Linux laptop line, isn’t worried about the big boys in the laptop business, says Ray Sanders, QLI’s president.

QLITech, a 10-employee private company based in Moline, Ill., announced today (Feb. 22) it was acquiring Tuxtops’ line of Linux-loaded laptops after Tuxtops suspended laptop sales earlier this year. Tuxtops President Graham Hine said then that competition from companies such as IBM and Dell loading Linux on laptops helped drive his company out of the laptop sales business.

But Sanders said the 2-year-old QLITech, which also sells small office/home office Linux packages, inexpensive servers, and Linux PCs optimized for gaming, said he believes QLI can establish a market niche for Tuxtops’ laptops as bigger companies test the Linux waters.

“Anybody can take a box, toss Linux on it and start selling Linux boxes,” he said. “Everybody’s playing both sides of the fence now, now that Linux has gotten some serious credibility. They want to see how this whole antitrust suit comes out because they want to be prepared. But that’s all they’re doing, they’re putting their foot in the water and seeing if it’s warm or cold, they’re not really committing.”

QLI isn’t buying Tuxtops, which is transitioning into a yet-undisclosed software venture. The deal allows QLI to exclusively sell the former Tuxtops line.

Tuxtops’ Hine said QLI’s diverse product line should allow the company to better compete with the big boys, especially in the small business and individual buyer markets, where companies like Dell and IBM aren’t focused. “We were focused entirely on selling Linux laptops, and QLI is a company that sells all lines of Linux computers,” he said. “There are a lot of people who are looking for computers for their company, and those folks now can go to QLI and get everything dealt with.”

Small companies such as QLI might not be able to crack the big corporate market, Hine said, but for an individual buyer or small company who “just want a good reliable system at a reasonable price … QLI should be able to compete very well with the big guys.”

In addition to selling the renamed Tuxtops laptop line, QLI will take over support for the Tuxtops laptops previously sold.

The support part of the deal is important for customers, Hine said, and he’s comfortable with QLI’s reputation for supporting customers. “We were happy to continue to do that, and we wanted to make sure our commitment to our customers didn’t get dropped, but if we’re going to be focusing on a software project, we may not be the best people to be doing laptop support.”

The deal happened because the two companies have had a long-standing relationship, with QLITech referring customers to Tuxtops’ laptops. QLI had originally been interested in selling laptops, Sanders said, but didn’t want to compete in the Linux laptop niche.

“When we heard that Tuxtops was getting out, I called up Graham, and basically, the rest is history,” Sanders said. “I said, ‘hey, Graham, let’s work something out so that this market doesn’t dry up.’ “

Hine said he’s happy that QLI has shown interest in selling Tuxtops’ line. “We put a lot into the laptop business,” he said. “The decision to drop the laptop line was a hard one to come by, because we had quite a bit of commitment to do that. We always had it in our mind that hopefully, somebody else could pick that line of business up or find some other way to do it.”

The price range for the three QLI latop models will be $2,049 to $2,629. They will be sold under the QLI, not the Tuxtops, brand.

Tuxtops’ software project is still under wraps as the team develops the backbone for it, Hine said. “There’s been some speculation … none of it’s quite right.”

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

Of course, it’s at LWN.net, and it includes the latest information on Linux 2.4.2.

It’s posted at LWN.net and it has a bunch of new stuff and fixes in it.

“Turbolinux president and CEO T Paul Thomas, brought in last March from Artisoft to lend the place an air of professional management and
adult supervision, will be leaving in the wake of the company’s takeover of Linuxcare, the company confessed last night.

Yesterday, the two firms finally reached the definitive acquisition agreement that has been eluding them for the last few weeks. The deal is
supposed to be announced today. The press release still has Thomas down as CEO and does not hint at his imminent departure. ” More at LinuxGram.

“The Linux marketplace is a dichotomy if I’ve ever bumped my head on one. On the one hand you have the free software folk who brought
us GNU and the GPL, and on the other you have, well, IBM for example. One side is altruistic and interested in sharing knowledge for
the benefit of all. The other side is materialistic and motivated by profit. Between the two poles stand the open source crowd and the bulk of
the Linux community.” Read more at LinuxWorld.com.

From The Register: “Do a search and you will find newsgroups posters exclaiming the phrases and
leaving puzzled and angry observers. And then, of course, there are the pics, just
some of which we have posted below. They’re good, you’ll like em.”

It’s Thursday, and a fresh edition of Linux Weekly News is online.