As an open-source operating system with wide applications, Linux shouldn't be tied so closely to the fortunes of e-commerce. Yet Linux-related companies seem caught in the same squeeze as Internet-related infrastructure and services companies, which initially grew on the back of online commerce.

Linuxcare has released its long-awaited computer administration service, an effort that gives some competition to a similar offering from Red Hat. Linuxcare's managed services, unveiled recently, provide a range of options to customers who would prefer to hire somebody else to handle tasks such as software updates for Linux servers, Chief Technology Officer Dave Sifry said.

If there's one area where Linux distributions miserably fail, it's in how services are configured right out of the box upon installation. Experienced users know enough to plug the many security holes present in a default Linux installation, but many Linux newbies -- and those experienced system administrators coming from the UNIX and NT worlds -- don't.

This beta is being released as an upgrade to Debian 2.2 (potato). The next beta, due soon, will include CD images, Progeny's new installer, and support for upgrades from Debian 2.1 (slink).

Lax security measures have been blamed for the rash of infections. The three loopholes that the Redhat worm exploits have been known about for months and patches for them have been available for almost as long. Redhat itself issued a patch in September last year.

Sun's Cobalt line runs the open Linux operating system, a departure from its emphasis on a proprietary flavour of Unix known as Solaris, but officials said the operating system was irrelevant to users that did not intend to modify it.

Ximian, the leading open source desktop company (formerly known as Helix Code), announced it has secured $15 million in funding from Charles River Ventures and Battery Ventures.

Sun Microsystems and its new Cobalt division recently announced the first new line of Cobalt server appliances since Sun's acquisition of Cobalt last December. Though preliminary information about the press conference hinted at the inclusion of Linux within the Sun/Cobalt server strategy, Sun executives went out of their way to de-emphasize Linux's presence on the Cobalt devices.

"Right now, Linux is the buzz, some even call it "Windows killer". I hope the "demise of Windows" soothsayers are talking about the server market and not the desktop, because Linux has a long way to go on this one."

An Internet worm cobbled together from generally available hacking tools has compromised hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Linux servers by using two well-known security flaws in applications set up during the default installation of Red Hat Linux software.