– by Tina Gasperson –
Wasabi Systems Inc. is a new commercial undertaking that sprung from the NetBSD
core group of developers. Following the now-traditional Open Source business
model, the company hopes to turn a profit by offering support and customization
options for clients. But because Wasabi and the NetBSD Foundation are sharing a
booth at Linux World, does that mean the commercial entity is getting a little
too cozy with the .org group for the Open Source community’s comfort?NetBSD, one of just four flavors of the BSD operating system, runs on 32 platforms, including Atari, Amiga, and Mac68k.
As the operating system has evolved, installing it gets easier and easier,
according to Luke Mewburn, a senior developer for Wasabi Systems. And the newest
version of NetBSD, 1.5, is highly compatible with Linux and will run most
applications created for Linux.

The release also features hot-pluggable
keyboards and mice, detachable PCMCIA support, USB, and wireless networking.
That, coupled with code portability and what some say are more attractive
licensing terms (BSD’s Berkeley vs. the GNU General Public License), make NetBSD more
and more attractive to businesses — at least that’s what Wasabi Systems is
hoping.

Some of the core group from NetBSD decided to start Wasabi Systems back in
mid-2000. The
company’s business model focuses on support and custom development. “We exist to
provide support for commercial users of NetBSD to make it a very safe choice —
in other words, there’s a company here that will stand behind you.” says
Jay Michaelson, vice president and COO of Wasabi.

He adds that the biggest benefit of NetBSD’s Berkeley-style license is the freedom it
gives to Wasabi and its clients to develop custom code and keep it proprietary. With
Linux and other code that is released under the GNU General Public License,
companies are not allowed to make changes to Open Source code without also
releasing that code under the GPL, a restriction that some say effectively keeps
enterprises from developing applications using GPL’ed code.

Wasabi doesn’t in any sense replace the NetBSD project, says Michaelson. “Wasabi is
just a company. To an extent, we overlap because a lot of the people who are NetBSD
developers are also Wasabi developers.” In fact, three of the five men who are
part of the core group of NetBSD developers are involved with Wasabi.

They maintain, however, that the two are entirely separate. “It is important for us to keep [them]
somewhat distinct,” says Michaelson, “because we don’t want our commercial interests to get in the
way of the Open Source community’s actual involvement in development of the
software product. That would be a really lousy business decision on our
part.”

Wasabi has different interests than the NetBSD project. “There are certain
development paths the Wasabi people are working on that maybe aren’t the most
interesting from a software development point of view, and the NetBSD project
might never get around to doing it. But they are an important business interest
to us.”

Wasabi also sells a CDROM distribution of NetBSD under its own label. “This CD is
exactly the same NetBSD that you can download from the Internet,” says Michaelson.
“It’s a matter of convenience for users, and for us it’s a marketing tool as
well because it gets our brand out there. We’ll also eventually offer update
subscriptions so you’ll always have the newest version without having to worry
about it.”

In fact, Wasabi’s Mewburn is looking to run for office in the NetBSD
foundation. “When I started with Wasabi,” says Mewburn, “I made it quite clear
that I was quite concerned about conflict of interest [to the NetBSD
Foundation], and pretty much the overwhelming response I got back was ‘well, we
don’t have a problem with it primarily because you’ve come out and said that if
there was a problem you’d be willing to step down.'”

As much as Mewburn would like to become an officer for the foundation, he makes
it clear that he understands the community may have reservations. “If I don’t
make it, I won’t fuss,” he says.

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

It’s at Portalux.com, so if you read French, check it out. We don’t read French, so the views expressed are not necessarily the views of NewsForge, unless, of course, there’s good stuff expressed.

InfoWorld reports on a new deal from Red Hat — it will add Aktopia’s Interchange e-commerce platform. With Aktopia, users can piece together “integrated infrastructure for e-commerce applications,” whatever that means, at a lower cost.

eWeek reports that Linux backers are talking at LinuxWorld how the operating system has “come of age in the enterprise.” IBM president and CEO Sam Palmisano told attendees Linux has become a “disruptive” technology that will, in eWeek’s words, “continue to power its way into the enterprise.” Upside Today has more on the Palmisano speech.

Netcraft.com has Apache leading in the Web server race, with just over 60 percent of sites surveyed. However, it lost about a percentage point, and Microsoft gained 2 percent in the latest survey.

Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HWP) today announced that it will ship the open source Ximian GNOME Desktop as the default desktop for HP-UX workstations after the release of HP-UX-11i. The partnership will offer HP customers a modern open source desktop environment, complete with a range of open source applications built for Linux. The Ximian GNOME Desktop is an enhanced, tested version of the open source GNOME desktop, making it easy to install, use and support. HP is adopting Ximian GNOME as an open standard to provide a common desktop for Linux and HP-UX.
CDE, the current desktop environment for HP-UX, will continue to be supported by HP. In addition, HP will provide customers with tools and a migration path for customers who are interested in Ximian GNOME.

Co-development between the two companies is already underway: Ximian and HP engineers are working closely together to meet HP-UX customers’ specific requirements for functionality and stability. The Ximian GNOME Desktop will be available for download for HP-UX 11.0 and Linux workstations later this year. A demonstration will be conducted in the Ximian booth (347) at LinuxWorld Conference and Expo.

“Our customers are constantly seeking the most innovative options and want access to the latest and greatest open source applications,” stated Stephen Geary, HP’s Linux development lab manager.

“We are committed to the open source methodology and community, and are excited about migrating our HP-UX and Linux workstations towards a common desktop. With more than 500,000 users, the Ximian GNOME desktop is a proven technology that will make our customers’ lives easier and more productive.”

“We are excited to be working with HP to drive the adoption of open source software in the greater computing industry,” said Nat Friedman, Ximian co-founder and CEO. “This partnership represents a major step for Ximian GNOME, which is now achieving broad acceptance in the workstation market. We look forward to continuing to work with HP to make Ximian GNOME the most modern, functional and cost-effective user environment for the world’s most demanding organizations.”

Some of the specifics of the HP/Ximian partnership include:

Ximian will port Ximian GNOME to HP-UX for PA-RISC and IA64.
Ximian GNOME will ship as the default desktop on HP-UX beginning with the next major release of HP-UX after 11i, and as a client environment for HP Linux workstations in late 2001.

HP will use Ximian GNOME as an open standard to provide a common desktop for Linux and HP-UX, providing a consistent user experience and a portable development platform.
Ximian will provide on-going technical support to HP.

Ximian GNOME for HP workstations will include all of Ximian’s network services.

“Such a close working relationship with HP is the ultimate validation of our technology,” adds Miguel de Icaza, Ximian co-founder and CTO. “The combination of continuous open source development with the rigorous and careful testing tradition of HP will deliver the reliable products that HP users demand.” HP and Ximian are members of the GNOME foundation, the industry’s forum for setting the technical direction of the GNOME project while promoting the broad adoption of GNOME on Linux and Unix desktops.

About the Ximian GNOME Desktop

The Ximian GNOME Desktop is a graphical user interface (GUI) for Linux and other Unix systems. It installs seamlessly onto a user’s desktop, and adds the ease-of-use and professional polish of a modern desktop to the power and customization of a Linux or Unix environment. Easy to install, support, and upgrade, Ximian’s GNOME Desktop is a powerful tool for IT departments, and can significantly reduce the total cost of ownership for the desktop.

About HP

Hewlett Packard Company–a leading global provider of computing and imaging solutions and services–is focused on making technology and its benefits accessible to individuals and businesses through simple appliances, useful e-services and an Internet infrastructure that’s always on. HP has 88,500 employees worldwide and had total revenue from continuing operations of $48.8 billion in its 2000 fiscal year. Information about HP and its products can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.hp.com.

About Ximian

Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Ximian (formerly Helix Code, Inc.) builds Ximian GNOME, the world’s most user-friendly and cost-effective Internet desktop. In use by more than 500,000 people, the company’s software adds an attractive and easy-to-use interface to the power of Linux and Unix operating systems. Ximian is pursuing an aggressive plan of open source application development, providing technology, support, and network services to the Linux and Unix marketplace. Ximian, comprised of many of the original architects of the GNOME system, is a founding member of the GNOME foundation and sits on the advisory board. The company has secured funding from leading VC firms Charles River Ventures and Battery Ventures. For more information, visit www.ximian.com. Ximian is a trademark of Ximian, Inc. in the Units States and/or other countries. The names of other companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

ZDNET reports that, during the past six
months, Microsoft has
made available to
“hundreds” of its larger
customers copies of its
Windows source code,
said Doug Miller, group
product manager with
Microsoft’s Windows .Net
server marketing group.

Dell Computer Corp. (NasdaqNM:DELL – news) and Oracle Corp. (NasdaqNM:ORCL – news) say they struck a development agreement to provide users of the free Linux operating system with Intel-based servers that run Oracle software. From Yahoo! news.

– by Tina Gasperson –
Walking around the Linux World Expo in New York City, it is clear that the Javits Convention Center is the place to be, even if you’re looking for non-Linux amusement. Horny headgear, anyone?Sure, I thought I was cool, slithering out of the cab and strutting into LinuxWorld with my black NewsF orge fedora. But that exultation was short-lived. Was it a not-so-subtle dig or just honest helpfulness that the media registration booth was handing out free copies of “Linux for Dummies” to each journalist requesting a badge?

I didn’t take one, but as I strolled up and down the aisles, some of the technologies present made me wish I’d received a copy of “Tech-Convention Navigation for Dummies.” Where to go first? My reasonable side (and my boss) said I should make the schmooze rounds, talk to a few sales reps and itinerant CEOs, but Slashdot was giving out free T-shirts … and I heard tell there were light-up Chuckie horns to be had at the BSD booth. Oh well, work can wait. Horned headbands won’t.

The Dummies guy and the Daemon girls

Come to find out that they were giving the Linux for Dummies books to everyone. A life-size, living Dummies guy with a huge triangular head was walking around the show floor, shaking hands and flirting with women. I asked the Dummies guy if he was like, the king of the dummies, or if he was supposed to be really smart and full of answers. He had no comment.

A couple of aisles over, I found the source of the Chuckie horns. Two nice-looking women, dressed in red leotards and sporting red, pointy tails, were passing out the horns with the blinking lights to a throng of eager young men. According to one of the women, who works for a character company, she and her companion travel all over the country doing shows with BSDi, along with other costumed characters, like Chuckie the Daemon himself.

The “Daemon girls,” as they are known, pose for pictures with show visitors and hand out not only the popular headbands, but the long, pointy tails as well. As I walked away from the Daemon girls, a troop of guys with the Chuckie horns approached. “Did you pose for a picture with one of the models?” I asked, and was answered with a chorus of yesses. “One of them promised to give me some tail,” said a young man. “That’s why I’m coming back.”

Incarnations of the Penguin

Tux, the Linux penguin, is getting a lot of play these days. He’s so Open Source. He shares himself with all kinds of companies, dressing up with a crown here, a sash there, and a pair of boots somewhere else. It’s Tux holding a Corel building block, or Tux sporting a top hat and holding a pocket watch. The Mandrake Tux has a befuddled, slightly insane look on his face – reminiscent perhaps of the typical new Linux user that Mandrake seems to be targeting?

IBM had several inflatable Tux chairs in its booth which looked comfortable enough, but who wants to sit in a penguin’s lap, especially when you know that silly Tux grin is right behind your head, probably laughing at your bad breath or struggling under your weight? Nevertheless, young slim hackers sprawled on the chairs, staring at their laptop screens.

The official Linux World penguin is geometric and spare, completely different from the cute, cuddly, personified Tux with whom we are familiar. One company took on the likeness of an Emperor penguin, which seemed discordant in its realism. But of all the manifestations of our friendly mascot, Chilliware takes the cake as the owner of the freakiest distribution of Tux. With his television host pose and cartoonish rendering, it’s not a stretch to say he looks a bit like Daffy Duck at the intro to the Looney Toons show, singing “this is it, we’ll hit the heights… and oh, what heights we’ll hit…”

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

IDG.net: Sun Microsystems Inc. Wednesday shipped two components of its J2ME (Java 2 Platform, Micro Edition) for Linux which together can provide a software platform for consumer and business networked devices, according to the company. The announcement beefs up Sun’s support for embedded systems, an area into which the Linux operating system is moving more aggressively than ever.