Windows 2000 is here, and it is a significant upgrade over Windows NT. For those who say Microsoft never gets it right, Windows 2000 is likely to be a rebuke, an operating system that does everything it's supposed to do and does it well. Start-ups that are extremely cost-conscious and wary of long-term license commitments, however, will consider free Solaris or Linux, or a combination of the two.

Even as rumors circulate at the CeBIT trade show in Germany that Microsoft is planning a version of Microsoft Office for Linux, the company is denying the report. On Thursday, an executive at LinuxCare said he had heard from several sources that Microsoft is about to offer a Linux suite, a move that would spin heads in the anti-Microsoft Linux community.

National Semiconductor Corporation announced that it has licensed Citrix Systems, Inc.'s Independent Computing Architecture (ICA) client software for the Linux operating system. National, the leading provider of silicon solutions and development platforms for the thin client market, will use Citrix ICA to provide its customers the most enhanced solution utilizing the Linux operating system.

Gateway announced that it will offer Web hosting, virtual private networking (VPN) and other Internet-related services to small and medium-size businesses in the second quarter. As part of the effort, the San Diego-based PC maker invested $25 million in Linux software specialist eSoft, which will use the money to develop management tools and software packages for creating these services.

Recently IBM has been courting the penguin, announcing agreements with Red Hat and LinuxCare, creating a Java Virtual Machine for Linux and announcing that it will pre-install Linux on its ThinkPads and NetFinity servers. What does IBM stand to gain from a partnership with Linux? And more importantly, what do Penguinistas gain from it?

Trying to accelerate the adoption of Linux in enterprise accounts, Red Hat on Tuesday announced its Red Hat Enterprise Edition product line as part of a strategy that will see the company working hand in glove with leading application developers to test and integrate Linux-based solutions.

Santa Cruz Operations often referred to as "SCO" but known internally as "S-C-O" has made a number of straight UNIX source codes available to the public. The source code for: Mini UNIX, UNIX V6, PWB UNIX, UNIX V7 (which also covers Editions 1-5, and the 32V).

My last SuSE review was back on October 18, 1999 - since that time SuSE has significantly improved on their Linux offering. I received SuSE 6.3 some weeks ago;  and I've finally had a chance to review it.

As part of the agreement, RealNetworks' RealServer 7.0 will be physically bundled with Red Hat's open source operating system software. Service and support for this enterprise solution will be collaboratively provided by both companies.

A handful of network engineers are taking advantage of new free software that turns older PCs into Linux-based routers for IP traffic—a concept that could catch on in the enterprise. The code is being distributed by the Linux Router Project, a loose-knit group of software developers formed several years ago to develop a less expensive alternative to mass-produced routers and firewalls.