SuSE Linux has announced the availability, of the latest distribution SuSE Linux 7.0 for computers

with Alpha CPUs.

Despite a recent price cut for the Applixware Office package from $99 per copy to $49, it couldn't compete in the marketplace with Sun's StarOffice, which costs nothing. And with KOffice -- also free -- rapidly becoming mature and stable enough to be useful for everyday work, it was time for Applix to throw in the desktop towel.

Microsoft's interoperability has always been geared toward migration, so why not take a cue from that and make migration to linux as painless as possible? Then the small to medium sized companies can look to migrate without first having an individual that it capable of administrating both Windows NT and Linux.

Linbox's DemoLinux distribution runs straight off an auto booting CD-ROM, creating a RAM disk in the host PC's memory and installing itself there. Unlike regular Linux releases DemoLinux doesn't dump anything on the hard disk, so anyone's Windows installation will remain intact.

Giant Industries Inc. turned to Linux to solve its computer crashes and poor system performance. Now down time at the company is almost zero and costs are decreasing.

Oracle was one of the first vendors to port its software to the Linux operating system. Today the company says the gamble paid off and from now on everything they make will run on Linux.

Eighteen months ago it looked neigh on impossible, but today, leading server hardware makers and the various Linux companies are becoming increasingly locked together in web of symbiotic relationships. These, generally loose, alliances are reshaping the face of the server business.

In the up-and-coming Linux 2.4 release: not only does Linux now offer much faster networking, it also offers the ability to run a kernel-level Web server.

Conventional wisdom says that Linux still isn't quite ready for prime time. Yet I reckon that magic moment is drawing closer by the day. Much closer. Judging by my recent experiences, I'd say that by this time next year Linux will rival Microsoft Windows as a viable mainstream desktop operating system.

A survey of 109 IT professionals with purchasing authority found that Oracle8i tops the field in Linux database deployments and is expected to increase its lead over nearest-rival IBM.