Caldera, Conectiva, SuSE, Turbolinux Partner To Create UnitedLinux, And Produce A Uniform Version Of Linux For Business.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers LINDON, Utah Lindon is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. The population was 8,363 at the 2000 census. By 2004 its population had been estimated to increase slightly to 8,489. Geography Lindon is located at (40.338552, -111. , CURITIBA, Brazil, NUREMBERG, Germany, & BRISBANE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2002-- Majority of enterprise system and software vendors including AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, www.amd.com) A major manufacturer of semiconductor devices including x86-compatible CPUs, embedded processors, flash memories, programmable logic devices and networking chips. , Borland Software Corporation (company) Borland Software Corporation - A company that sells a variety of PC software development and database systems. Borland was founded in 1983 and initially became famous for their low-cost software, particularly Turbo Pascal, Turbo C, and Turbo Prolog. , Computer Associates, Fujitsu Siemens (Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Inc. (USA), Milpitas, CA, www.fujitsu-siemens.com) Fujitsu Siemens Computers USA is a wholly owned research and development subsidiary of Fujitsu Siemens Computers. , Fujitsu Japan, Hewlett-Packard, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Intel, NEC (NEC Corporation, Tokyo, www.nec.com, www.necus.com) An electronics conglomerate known in the U.S. for its monitors. In Japan, it had the lion's share of the PC market until the late 1990s (see PC 98). NEC was founded in Tokyo in 1899 as Nippon Electric Company, Ltd. , Progress Software, and SAP, support effort to create standard Linux platform Linux Industry leaders Caldera caldera: see crater. caldera Large, bowl-shaped volcanic depression that forms when the top of a volcanic cone collapses into the space left after magma is ejected during a violent volcanic eruption. The term is Spanish for “caldron. International, Inc. (Nasdaq:CALD CALD chronic active liver disease. ), Conectiva S.A., SuSE Linux A Linux distribution from the SuSE Linux division of Novell. Both consumer and enterprise versions are available, and the distribution includes several user interfaces. SuSE Linux comes with the Yet Another Setup Tool (YaST), which is used to install, configure and maintain the OS, as AG, and Turbolinux, Inc., today announced the organization of UnitedLinux, a new initiative that will streamline Linux development and certification around a global, uniform distribution of Linux designed for business. UnitedLinux addresses enterprise customers' need for a standard, business-focused Linux distribution The Linux operating system packaged for customers for a fee. It includes the Linux kernel, essential operating system components from the GNU Project, an installation program, various open source utilities and applications, documentation and technical support. that is certified to work across hardware and software platforms, accelerating the adoption of Linux in the enterprise. Under terms of the agreement, the four companies will collaborate on the development of one common core Linux operating environment In computing, an operating environment is the environment in which users run programs, whether in a command line interface, such as in MS-DOS or the Unix shell, or in a graphical user interface, such as in the Macintosh operating system. , called UnitedLinux software. The four partners will each bundle value added Value Added The enhancement a company gives its product or service before offering the product to customers. Notes: This can either increase the products price or value. products and services with the UnitedLinux operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. and the resulting offering will be marketed and sold by each of the four partners under their own brands. Nearly every vendor supplying a piece of the technology infrastructure used by businesses has expressed support for UnitedLinux, including systems and software vendors AMD, Borland Software Corporation, Computer Associates, Fujitsu Siemens, Fujitsu Japan, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Intel, NEC, Progress Software, and SAP. Independent hardware and software vendors spend considerable effort certifying their products and services on individual Linux distributions  The external links in this article or section may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies. to ensure product compatibility for their customers. UnitedLinux will significantly diminish the number of distributions that vendors are asked to certify and will provide a true standards-based Linux operating environment. Customers Benefit Through Unity According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. research firm IDC, a 2001 survey of 800 North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. and Western European companies It may never be fully completed or, depending on its its nature, it may be that it can never be completed. However, new and revised entries in the list are always welcome. This is a list of companies from the countries in the European Union. found that 40% of the respondents were either using or testing Linux in their organizations. UnitedLinux will help further speed enterprise adoption of Linux by providing businesses with a greater choice in the number of applications and hardware certified to work on the uniform version of Linux. Customers will also benefit from the global sales, localization Customizing software and documentation for a particular country. It includes the translation of menus and messages into the native spoken language as well as changes in the user interface to accommodate different alphabets and culture. See internationalization and l10n. , education, support and services that all four UnitedLinux vendors will collectively provide. The collaboration of the four leading Linux companies will result in an enterprise Linux offering, which is truly global by virtue of the companies' ability to provide local language support, training and professional services (job) professional services - A department of a supplier providing consultancy and programming manpower for the supplier's products. , in addition to the support of strategic partners. UnitedLinux will provide one unified Linux code base for IBM's complete eServer product line, AMD's current 32-bit and forthcoming 64-bit AMD Athlon(TM) and AMD Opteron(TM) processor-based platforms, and Intel's x86 32-bit and Itanium(TM) processor family platforms. UnitedLinux supports LSB (Linux Standard Base) A standard interface (ABI) for Linux from the Linux Foundation (www.linux-foundation.org). Introduced in 2001 by the Free Standards Group, which later became the Linux Foundation, applications based on the LSB standard will run properly under , Li18nux, and GB18030 standards, as well as enabling installations in English, German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese languages Chinese languages or Sinitic languages Family of languages comprising one of the two branches of Sino-Tibetan. They are spoken by about 95% of the inhabitants of China and by many communities of Chinese immigrants elsewhere. . In addition UnitedLinux unleashes a massive research and development organization for Linux in the enterprise. Effectively, the four companies involved in this process will shift dollars and resources once allocated to creating and maintaining custom Linux operating environments and divert them to new R&D on Linux enterprise software. UnitedLinux is dedicated to bolstering the enterprise readiness of the platform, but in the same collaborative spirit from which Linux was founded and continues to flourish. Participation and Availability While today's announcement outlines the founding members of UnitedLinux, the initiative is open for additional Linux companies to participate. The four partners currently plan to each offer their own server products based on UnitedLinux by the end of 2002. For additional information on UnitedLinux, contact Caldera, Conectiva, SuSE or Turbolinux or go to www.unitedlinux.com. About UnitedLinux UnitedLinux is a standards-based, worldwide Linux solution targeted at the business user and developed by Caldera, Conectiva, SuSE, and Turbolinux. Designed to be an enterprise-class, industry-standard Linux operating system, UnitedLinux provides a single stable, uniform platform for application development, certification, and deployment, and allows Linux vendors, Independent Software Vendors, Independent Hardware Vendors, and Original Equipment Makers to support a single high value Linux offering. For more information, go to www.unitedlinux.com ADDENDUM AMD AMD looks forward to working with UnitedLinux. Innovating within open standards Specifications for hardware and software that are developed by a standards organization or a consortium involved in supporting a standard. Available to the public for developing compliant products, open standards imply "open systems;" that an existing component in a system can be replaced is a basic tenet at both AMD and UnitedLinux. The combination of an enterprise-ready standard Linux, and high-volume, industry standard 32-bit and 64-bit server platforms from AMD will provide shared customers with a high-performance platform for enterprise computing Refers to information technology in the larger company. See enterprise data and enterprise networking. . -- Rich Heye, Vice President Platform and Infrastructure, AMD Borland As a leading provider of Linux development environments, Borland supports the efforts around UnitedLinux. This organization should help in making it easier for Borland to offer our technology running on Linux from more vendors and help to open up new opportunities and channels for Borland. -- Simon Thornhill, VP and General Manager of rapid application solutions at Borland Caldera Caldera sees the formation of UnitedLinux as a tremendous benefit to the industry, to our customers, to our 16,000-member reseller channel, and to our IHV (Independent Hardware Vendor) An organization that makes electronic equipment. It implies a company that specializes in a niche area, such as display adapters or disk controllers, rather than a computer systems manufacturer. Contrast with ISV. and ISV (Independent Software Vendor) A person or company that develops software. It implies an organization that specializes in software only and is not part of a computer systems or hardware manufacturer. partners. Linux and Open Source have already changed the way software is developed in the new online world. UnitedLinux now offers a viable business model and creates a unified environment that will attract many more global business solutions to Linux enabling far greater adoption and use. Caldera plans to make Linux not just an alternative OS, but the dominant choice for businesses worldwide who are wanting to take advantage of the benefits of online services. -- Ransom Love, Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , Caldera International Computer Associates As a company that has demonstrated unmatched commitment to Linux as an enterprise-computing platform, CA is extremely supportive of the UnitedLinux initiative. We believe that this broad-based cooperative effort will further accelerate the embrace of Linux by customers across all market segments and will enable them to realize the significant technical and business benefits that Linux offers in their distributed and mainframe implementations. -- John Pincomb, VP of Marketing at Computer Associates Conectiva UnitedLinux represents the addition of the best qualification of each of these companies. As they are in different places, they can add qualifications that each one has developed in order to answer to the challenges of the local markets, creating a product that increases the number of answers to the technical demand. It would be very difficult for an individual company to get such a wide coverage in so many aspects. In addition, the organization model we are adopting, an alliance with the cooperation and contribution of best practices, is in accordance with the cooperative spirit Linux has wrought. -- Jaques Rosenzvaig, CEO of Conectiva Free Standards Group See Linux Foundation. UnitedLinux's commitment to LSB certification is a natural. I look forward to the further growth of the Linux market acceptance of open source methodologies and wider certification of Linux products. -- Scott McNeil, Executive Director of the Free Standards Group Fujitsu Linux is one of the most important strategic platforms for Fujitsu, and we have been actively developing hardware and software products, services and solutions based on Linux. We welcome UnitedLinux and commend its efforts to create a common and stable Linux distribution environment for system vendors like Fujitsu and business customers as well. Fujitsu is pleased to lend its fullest support to UnitedLinux's activities. -- Masaharu Kitaoka, General Manager of Linux Division, Fujitsu Limited. Fujitsu Siemens Computers Fujitsu Siemens Computers is a Japanese and German IT vendor, selling consumer and business computing products in the markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (products marketed elsewhere are sold under the Fujitsu brand). UnitedLinux transforms Linux into a business operating system The Business Operating System, or BOS, is an early cross-platform operating system originally produced for Intel 8080 and Motorola 6800 computers, subsequently for Z80-based computers, and then later for most microcomputers of the 1980s. par excellence. The level of performance, scalability and availability will be extraordinary. Combined with our PRIMERGY servers, UnitedLinux will provide a platform for business-critical computing solutions. -- Dr. Joseph Reger, Chief Technology Officer Fujitsu Siemens Computers HP As the #1 vendor of Linux solutions and the leading proponent of standards-based computing, HP believes UnitedLinux represents an important milestone that will accelerate the use of Linux by enterprises around the world. Businesses of all sizes that are deploying Linux now have the additional benefit of this unified platform. -- Martin Fink, general manager, HP Linux Systems Division IBM The formation of UnitedLinux offers multiple benefits to the industry, proving yet again that cooperation on standards simplifies application development and deployment for vendors thereby providing our mutual customers with new applications more quickly. Ultimately, UnitedLinux will accelerate Linux adoption in the industry. -- Steve Solazzo, General Manager, Linux, IBM. Linux International Open Source licensing leads to each vendor having the same functionality in the base system over time. This effort shows forethought fore·thought n. 1. Deliberation, consideration, or planning beforehand. 2. Preparation or thought for the future. See Synonyms at prudence. in making that effort a planned, cooperative event. Rather than spend their money re-engineering the basic underlying functionalities of reliability, scalability and availability, these vendors will be able to build a common platform with which to innovate new features that their customers desire. I wish the old Unix vendors had learned that lesson. For many years the analysts have been saying that the marketplace could not support so many distributions of Linux, hinting that only one or two might survive. Once again the Linux community has come back with a unique answer that may prove the analysts both right and wrong. This bold step should give a strong base distribution that will satisfy the needs of the software vendor for consistency and the hardware vendor for support, yet allow differentiation at the upper levels to meet the needs of diverse customers. -- Jon "maddog" Hall, Executive Director of Linux International. Open Forum Europe OpenForum Europe was formed to accelerate and broaden the use of Linux and Open Source Software in business, breaking down the perceived business blockers that our research has shown may slow down its adoption by business. The announcement of UnitedLinux is very welcome, tackling potential duplication of effort and via the partner collaboration will boost confidence of CIOs in selecting Linux. UnitedLinux is a future-oriented step that has the full support of OpenForum Europe. -- Graham Taylor, Programme Director, OpenForum Europe NEC NEC believes that any activities of the UnitedLinux will be useful for all of us -- Linux users, developers and system integrators -- related to the enterprise systems. NEC welcomes such activities and will contribute development of future Linux market for enterprise. -- Chieko Takahashi, Senior Manager of Open Source Software Solution Center, NEC Solutions, NEC Progress Software We are encouraged by the announcement of a UnitedLinux Operating System and look forward to its first release. We see the collaboration between Caldera, SuSE, Turbolinux and Conectiva as being a most effective way of integrating several Linux distributions into one standard based Linux Operating System that is specifically targeted for business implementations. This is an essential step in the evolution of the Linux OS, which will provide notable economical and technological benefits to business customers and software companies like Progress. -- Maggie Alexander, Vice President of Product Planning at Progress Software SAP UnitedLinux will assist SAP in extending our Linux reach while maintaining the clear and simple structure of the distributions and databases supported by SAP solutions. Throughout the world, UnitedLinux will help to make SAP solutions on Linux an even more compelling offering with respect to service, support, reliability and performance to price ratio. -- SAP AG, Karl-Heinz Hess, Member of the Extended Executive Board SuSE Linux AG UnitedLinux provides our customers a business Linux that can truly be called the 'best of the best'. Global accounts will especially welcome the worldwide availability of one unified product combined with a set of services delivered either by a local Linux player or an international acting partner like IBM Global Services IBM Global Services is the world's largest business and technology services provider. It is the fastest growing part of IBM, with over 190,000 professionals serving customers in more than 160 countries. . -- Gerhard Burtscher, CEO SuSE Linux AG Turbolinux Asia Pacific is one of the fastest growing markets for Linux and UnitedLinux will only accelerate that rapid growth. Turbolinux has market leadership in Asia Pacific with major enterprise customers, hardware and software partners throughout the region, as well as aiding in China's massive undertaking to select a technology infrastructure for the entire country. UnitedLinux will benefit these customers, especially those in the largest enterprises that use Linux across their global infrastructures. With today's announcement, there are no credible arguments left against Linux in the enterprise. Linux will take its deserved place alongside every other enterprise operating environment. -- Ly-Huong Pham, CEO of Turbolinux |
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