Caldera has changed the license on its OpenLinux Workstation product for the latest version (3.1) to require one license per system the distribution is installed on. The company will provide a certificate of license authenticity (COLA) with each unit sold, and Caldera expects each customer to have a COLA for each system that deploys OpenLinux Workstation.

Lineo has released Lineo Availix Vertical Clustering 1.0, an solution to provide Internet data centers, large Internet service providers and access providers with high scalability and performance for non-stop access services. Availix VC architecture consists of interconnected CompactPCI clusters (called Horizontal clusters) and data storage devices over a storage area network. Interconnections, based on high-speed switched fabrics, allow significant workload distribution over horizontal sub-clusters.

Caldera's Ransom Love defends himself against charges by free software advocate Richard Stallman. The truth is, he says, nothing is for free. "Someone must pay for it. All these small modifications in the code... all this does cost money. The only way to make Linux a successful business is to cash in. This is the other side of the medal. In the future, all Linux applications will have a price tag. That's the job of the movement's marketing department. You will have to pay for it, but of course less than you would pay for NT products..."

"My theory for this short release cycle is that SuSE was trying to sync its release versions with the new Itanium flavor that was scheduled to be released last week. In other words, they opted to use the SuSE Linux 7.2 number for the Itanium release, and wanted to avoid confusion with the Intel version numbers. If this is the case, then this makes more sense. But if we see SuSE 7.3 in a September/October timeframe, then we'll know its something else," writes Brian Proffitt as he takes a quick look at SuSE 7.2 and questions if its purchase is necessary for SuSE veterans.

The author talks of how Linux can succeed on the desktop. According to him Linux will not succeed on its own merits and that its only shot is attracting disaffected Windows users. "Is it ready for the consumer desktop? Well, unfortunately it's difficult to see where the demand would come from. Its geeky image will still be off-putting for consumers, despite the price advantage, and vendors will probably prefer the markup they get from bundling Windows with their systems, rather than Linux."

Instant Messaging makes staying in touch with friends via the Internet, a much faster and easier process. No longer do you have to patiently read and write e-mails or try and co-ordinate rendezvous timings at chat servers. All you and your friends have to do is to get an instant messaging program. Add your friends to your 'contact list' and whenever one of them logs onto the Internet you can send them messages, files or even play multi-player games. Several Instant Messaging programs exist, with ICQ and AOL Instant Messenger being among the more popular ones.

DB2 Developer Domain will help satisfy the growing demand for DB2 information from the developer community. It features original technical articles, sample code, DB2 trial downloads, preview technologies and how-to information. The site offers training services, product documentation, tutorials and tips on planning, implementing, tuning and integrating DB2 with XML, mobile/wireless applications,Java, the Web and other new technologies. The content will be refreshed weekly.

Building on its long-standing reputation as a bellwether for technology innovation, IBM has announced three new technological firsts--the industry's first database to support InfiniBand, a database software running against the new DAFS and the database software to support newly announced Itanium-based systems--aimed at improving database performance, speed, scalability and efficiency to bring value to its customers so they can gain a competitive edge.

"Linux is more stable, about as fast, every bit as pretty, and almost as easy to install as anything Microsoft has produced. However, far fewer office productivity applications are written for Linux, and peripheral support is still furlongs behind that of Windows. And to be honest, Linux isn't quite as easy to use. But there's light at the end of the open-source tunnel. I give Linux a year or so before it closes the usability gap. Linux is definetly here to stay.

If you spend enough time in and around the personal computer industry, you will invariably get so jaded that very few things can evoke interest, enthusiasm, or even excitement. But it's worth crawling out of this trap of cynicism, since there are still plenty of smart people designing and creating cool stuff. Some of this neat stuff is evolutionary, some of it occasionally borders on, or even is, revolutionary. This column is about one of each