IBM will roll out the latest trick in its Linux affinity bag with its AIX Toolkit for Linux applications. The toolkit enables developers to build and package Linux applications for use on the IBM eServer family running AIX, IBM's heralded UNIX operating system.

Turbolinux is in talks to acquire Linuxcare, a deal that would unite two established Linux companies that missed the prime time to go public.

Managers will have to wait at least a few months before taking advantage of the new 2.4 Linux kernel, by which time they should have a clearer picture of the new version's potential as an enterprise-class operating system.

Linux 2.4 hit the streets last week in a positive tidal wave of understatement. Now with a similar degree of underhype Oracle has announced that its products will support the new operating systems with immediate effect. The speed of the support announcement clearly indicates that Linux is serious news, but is it yet a serious business contender?

Linux has gone “one up” on Windows by offering two alternatives in the desktop GUI game, KDE and GNOME. Can either threaten the hegemony of Windows? Isn’t two LINUX GUIs one too many? Are both growing in harmony or is there a war in play?

Linux’s shortfall has always been the lack of “off the shelf deliverable” or “the easy to install”. But there are now over twenty companies in the UK and many more in the U.S that offer preloaded products and business support services. A whole range of options is available, from Notebooks and workstations to extremely large server platforms.

Business managers are guilty of demanding ebusiness at all costs and security is overlooked, according to research by analyst group Xephon. Unix was rated as the safest mid-range server environment, beating NT/Windows 2000 into second place. The Linux platform was rated as the least secure platform to store data.

Turbolinux is in talks to acquire Linuxcare, a deal that would

unite two established Linux companies that missed the prime

time to go public. The two companies have started discussions

to band together, representatives for each company confirmed

Friday. "We have services, and they have products," a

Linuxcare representative said.

Searching for an easy way to speed up huge compilations or scale up your Internet services? Take a look at MOSIX, an open source clustering project from Hebrew University that features power without a price.

IBM has given a boost to Turbolinux as the companies announced that they will jointly market, distribute, and support IBM's Linux-based ebusiness applications. The software giant's move builds on a 2-year-old agreement with privately held Turbolinux, which enjoys backing from IBM, Compaq, Intel, Dell, and other high-tech heavyweights. Among the offerings to be bundled by summer are IBM's WebSphere servers, Small Business Suite for Linux, and DB2 Universal Database.