Top OEMs, ISVs Unwrap Linux Offerings At LinuxWorld

Top OEMs and ISVs are embracing Linux more tightly as the open-source platform proliferates across the business sector.

At the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in San Francisco, Hewlett-Packard announced it would develop and support Debian, a top-ranked Linux distribution, along with Red Hat and Novell commercial Linux distributions on select hardware.

With that, HP now enables Debian Linux across HP ProLiant and HP BladeSystem servers. In addition, HP unveiled the first customizable Linux thin client from a tier-one vendor, the HP t5725.

Lenovo, too, is forging stronger ties with Linux software vendors. At LinuxWorld on Tuesday, Lenovo unveiled the ThinkPad T60p Linux Mobile Workstation, which supports Novell's recently released SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 operating system. Coming in 14-inch and 15-inch models, the new ThinkPads are available now.

On the software front, Linux and open-source application vendors took the wraps off new offerings for appliances, application virtualization and mobile workers at the show.RPath, founded by former Red Hat executives in Raleigh, N.C., rolled out version 2.0 of its rBuilder development platform. RBuilder 2.0, which transforms applications into appliances, features an agent for managing and configuring appliances. The appliance combines an application with the Linux distribution and integrates with the company's rMake engine for building updates and rPath Mirror to accelerate the deployment of those updates to appliances at customer sites.

Database ISV Ingres announced that it used rBuilder 2.0 to combine its database application with Linux to create an appliance called Project Icebreaker.

Trigence, Jersey City, N.J., demonstrated an application virtualization solution for Linux that enables application movement, migration and configuration management. The Trigence AE solution will be demonstrated on Novell SUSE and other Linux operating systems at LinuxWorld.

JasperSoft launched JasperServer Professional, a commercial implementation of its open-source business intelligence server software. The BI server enables users to easily customize reports and create layouts, and it's integrated with the open-source JasperReports reporting application.

On the management front, Centeris is highlighting its recently launched Likewise 2.0 platform, which enables customers with mixed environments to manage Windows and Linux from the same console. Version 2.0 allows the management of Linux servers using Windows tools, the integration of Linux with Active Directory and simplified configuration of Linux server roles, the company said.In the mobile arena, PalmSource will spotlight its Access Linux Platform, the latest Palm OS for Linux, and Unicon Systems will announce a Mobile Linux Development Kit. The Unicon kit is based on ARM9 embedded processors running Linux 2.6 and allows developers to create handheld devices for industrial applications and consumer applications. At LinuxWorld, the company is demonstrating two products developed using the kit: MCopy and MBridge, which transfer multimedia content between any USB-enabled devices without a computer.

Also, Hummingbird unveiled a remote access solution for Linux desktops. Called Exceed onDemand 6, the solution allows Windows and Linux users to access X11 applications and data across any type of network connection, the company said.