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168 lines
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<title>Linux - the Darling of Comdex 1998? LG #35</title>
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<H4>
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"Linux Gazette...<I>making Linux just a little more fun!</I>"
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<H1><font color="maroon">Linux - the Darling of Comdex 1998?</font></H1>
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<H4>By <a href="mailto:normj@ssc.com">Norman M. Jacobowitz</a></H4>
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Once again the mega-computer show known as Comdex
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(<A HREF="http://www.comdex.com/">http://www.comdex.com/</A>) took over Las Vegas, Nevada, this past November
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15 through 20th. On hand to represent the Linux community were 12
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vendors who made up this year's Linux Pavilion: Linux Journal, Red Hat,
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S.u.S.E., Caldera, VA Research, Linux Hardware Solutions, Linux
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International, InfoMagic, Enhanced Software Technologies, Turbo Linux,
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Interix and ApplixWare. Special Linux-related events included the
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presentation of the first annual Linux Journal Editor's Choice Awards by
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our esteemed editor, Marjorie Richardson.
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<P>
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As usual, there were throngs of corporate buyers, sellers and interested
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onlookers from nearly every nation on hand for the event. Hundreds of
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exhibits, from small, quiet displays of software to a real high-wire
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balancing act performed above the crowd, entertained and informed
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visitors.
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<P>
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But there are several factors that set the recent Comdex apart from
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years past. Number one, there was a noticeable drop-off in business
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attendance. Several major corporations, including Netscape and Intel,
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either did not show up at all or rented small meeting spaces rather than
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building booths. Mirroring the corporate no-shows was the precipitous
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decline in individual attendance. The missing visitors were readily
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noticed -- taxi lines were shorter, hotel rooms were easily secured,
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etc.
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<P>
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What makes Comdex 1998 stand out even more is the dramatic increase in
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the amount of attention that was received by Linux. Not only was the
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Linux Pavilion packed from the opening on Monday until the close on
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Friday, but other exhibitors had more to say about Linux during the
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course of the show.
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<P>
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Evidence was everywhere that Linux is reaching past the IT departments
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at major corporations and getting the attention of management and other
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non-technical decision makers. This in turn meant that press attention
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was focused on Linux as never before. Several vendors in the Linux
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Pavilion were interviewed for a local TV news segment, while most major
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computer oriented print outlets made at least some mention of the Linux
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presence at Comdex.
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<P>
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Even more impressive were the numbers of average computer users who
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approached vendors at the Linux Pavilion with an open mind and lots of
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questions ... and then walked away with a distribution CD! Linux
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International was distributing several different CD-ROMs and asking for
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a $1 donation. They "sold out" of CDs quite quickly, and were
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eventually rescued by the generosity of S.u.S.E. As a result of the
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efforts of LI and the rest of the Linux Pavilion, there are now perhaps
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as many as several thousand new Linux users.
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<P>
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So, what does Comdex 1998 mean for the future of Linux? Well, based on
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my experience there and the people I spoke to, I believe we can expect
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several of the following events, if not all, to occur between now and
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the turn of the century:
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<ul>
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<li>Far more major companies will be porting their software to Linux. At
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Comdex, I was approached by many programmers and marketing types alike
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who were sent to the Pavilion to assess the potential for porting their
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wares to Linux. Look for a few surprises to come up in the next year;
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rumors were flying about various vendors currently alpha testing their
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products for Linux.
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<li>Even more hardware will be sold with native Linux drivers available,
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especially in the field of RAID controllers, now that Oracle is ported
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to Linux. Again, I spoke to many programmers sent by hardware vendors
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to seek out counsel and advice on writing drivers for Linux.
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<li>Linux will continue to grow in appeal to "end-user" types who are fed
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up with the inadequacies of proprietary, closed-source Operating
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Systems. Many a newcomer was exposed to Linux at Comdex; many of them
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will wind up long-term users. Look for this to emerge as a trend.
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<li>Major vendors will consider their Linux ventures to be a major
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strategic business move, not merely a sideline venture. At Comdex, many
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of Oracle's major announcements centered around their support for Linux
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and role of Linux in it's future. Look for more companies to expand
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into Linux in some capacity and proudly advertise and publicize those
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moves, rather than burying the Linux news under other announcements.
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<li>Linux-specific skills will become a hot resume item for programmers,
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system administraters, and other techie types in the job market. Many
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professionals from several different organizations asked me for personal
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assistance in helping them locate Linux-savvy professionals for their
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personnel pools; one of my friends now has a lucrative job with someone
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I met briefly at Comdex.
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<li>Linux will continue to improve, while certain major Operating Systems
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will see no such improvement, even as major new releases are published.
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Yes, this is an opinionated prognostication, but there is evidence to
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support such an assertion: few vendors at Comdex 1998 had anything "new"
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or dramatically improved to show. Their plight is not going to change
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overnight, no matter what kind of marketing hype surrounds their
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upcoming releases.
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</ul>
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In all fairness, there are some negative interpretations of the
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attention Linux received at Comdex. For one, the strong press attention
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could be somewhat explained by the very point made in the previous
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paragraph: because the big vendors like Microsoft didn't have any new
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mind-boggling toys to show off, the press had to look for news where it
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could find it. Linux was the biggest new thing to talk about. Plus,
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with attendance off and fewer vendors on hand, visitors had to look
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harder to find anything interesting to see at the show; it's possible
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they may not have come down to see us had their been more going on at
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the other Comdex venues.
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<P>
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Yet the reception received by Linux vendors and enthusiasts at Comdex
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1998 can only be described as overwhelmingly positive. As a final bit
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of evidence to support that claim, let me relate the following personal
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anecdote ...
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<P>
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On the flight down to Las Vegas from Seattle, it was my pleasure to sit
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next to a Vice President from Microsoft. This gentleman was a pleasure
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to speak with about Microsoft, Open Source software and Linux. He was
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filled not with judgment and disdain, but genuine interest and
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thoughtful questions about what free software and Linux mean for the
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future of computing. Not only that, but he did assert that while
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companies like Microsoft are in business to make money, he himself is
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very interested in learning more about Linux and other free software.
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He said that many of his colleagues and contemporaries all over the
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business spectrum are equally intrigued. Something tells me his
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attitude is not unique ... Linux and Free/Open Source Software are
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poised to take a remarkable position in the future of computing and
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technology.
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<P>
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With all of these facts taken into consideration, there is one logical
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conclusion: Comdex 1998 was one more step on Linux's way to complete
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world domination.
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<!--===================================================================-->
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<P> <hr> <P>
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<center><H5>Copyright © 1998, Norman M. Jacobowitz <BR>
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Published in Issue 35 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, December 1998</H5></center>
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