Compaq gives once-renegade Linux a timely boost

Compaq Computer's announcement this week that it will offer six of its desktop machines with operating system Linux pre-installed, signals the continuing expansion of the once-renegade operating system (OS) into the corporate realm.

Compaq says it will offer Linux alongside s its Tru64 version of the Unix operating system on three of its desktop models and three workstations. Compaq has also forged closer marketing, product development and training arrangements with Red Hat, the manufacturer of the Linux version - or "distribution" - that Compaq offers.

Linux is freely available on the Internet but many people prefer to buy the relatively complex OS in a packaged form from manufacturers like Red Hat, S.U.S.E. or Caldera because they also get manuals and technical support.

In the past nine months, Linux - created by Finnish programmer Mr Linus Torvalds as a personal project while he was a 21-year-old student - has moved from its position as the favourite OS of hardcore programmers to corporate respectability.

Honed over many years by thousands of programmers on the Internet who contributed to its development for free, Linux is considered to be one of the most reliable, stable and secure operating systems. But companies have been wary of using a system which costs nothing and until recently, has had no specific manufacturer to back the product and offer technical support.

But as Linux's reputation has spread, so has corporate interest. Last September, in a surprise move, Intel took a 5 per cent stake in Red Hat, with Netscape taking an undisclosed stake at the same time. That move prompted widespread, if tentative, moves to support the OS from major hardware and software companies including Dell, Silicon Graphics, IBM, Sybase, Corel, HewlettPackard, Novell, and SAP.

Dell, which in April became the first large PC manufacturer to offer Linux as a free option on its computers, says that take-up of Linux remains tiny, at well under 5 per cent of systems sold.

"Companies are getting it so they can play with the technology and have a look at it," says Mr Andy Barraclough, server and storage product manager for Dell UK and Ireland. "We're seeing most of the take-up on servers and workstations [rather than PCs]. People are using Linux for niche areas such as Web servers, or they're experimenting with it." Nonetheless Linux remains the fastest-growing operating system, with the Red Hat distribution the top Linux product in 1998, according to industry analyst, IDC.

The announcement from Compaq will also bolster Red Hat's intention of going public, probably in the autumn, according to analysts. The company's registration filing indicates that it expects to raise close to $100 million (€97 million) through an initial public offering, which would provide a handsome pay-off for Intel. Both Compaq and Dell have minority stakes in Red Hat, as do a rash of other major technology companies.