Intel surely loves this scenario, as it wouldn't have to depend so heavily on the Wintel "duopoly" with Microsoft for such a huge portion of its business. Having so many of your eggs in one basket can be a dangerous business plan, especially when the feds are trying to crack open your partner.
Intel isn't the only one that should be uneasy about future prospects for Wintel. Enterprise customers don't like disruption in their businesses, either. It wouldn't surprise me if the net result of Microsoft's legal troubles is that big corporate customers hedge their bets and invest in both a Windows 2000 application track and a Unix or Linux track.
Until recently, Intel has had limited success at best in getting non-Microsoft operating systems onto its platform. Solaris on Intel could hardly be called a ringing endorsement.
But then came Linux. In the last few years, Linux has been the fastest-growing OS, and as it makes inroads upon the major hardware vendors it is largely being run on Intel chips. To take this hegemony to the next level, Intel, HP and a group of other companies are working on a version of Linux for the Intel IA-64 platform, otherwise known as the Trillian Project.
But Intel is going to face some competition for Linux mind share and market share.
Intel's own partners on Trillian aren't content to back an Intel-only strategy. HP, for example, is signing up partners to make Linux run on HP servers equipped with non-Intel processors. The Puffin Group, for instance, is porting Linux to PA-RISC so that HP 9000 server users can run Linux applications. And Cygnus is making development tools for both Linux and HP-UX.
IBM, a participant in the Trillian project, is pushing Linux on all of its platforms. While Big Blue initially sold Linux on its Intel-based Netfinity servers, recently executives have said the company will expand Linux capabilities on the AS/400, RS/6000 and S/390 servers, which use IBM's proprietary processors.
Compaq could be the sleeper in this arena. The company, which abandoned Windows on its Alpha processor last summer, made a credible pitch for putting Linux on its 64-bit processor at that time.
Since then, Compaq has been low key about running Linux on Alpha, although they have been laying the groundwork for the resurgence of Alpha based on Linux. Compaq has struck partnerships with the major Linux distributors -- Red Hat, SuSE and TurboLinux -- to back the OS on Alpha, and it is even turning out a few Alpha systems that come pre-loaded with Linux.
Sun's efforts in the Linux arena seem to be the most standoffish of any of the major component or systems makers.
Of course, Sun is pushing Java and Linux integration. The company wants Java to be cross-platform, and that means the Linux platform, too. In this regard, Sun seems to be making positive steps toward support for Linux. Last month it said Caldera will ship the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition and Java HotSpot Virtual Machine, which will enable Linux developers to write applications based on Java.
However, the tune changes on the hardware side of Sun's business. Last year, Sun said it would provide motherboards that support Linux on its UltraSparc chips, while last month TradeMark Computer Products said it would ship Sparc-based systems that run Linux. But these boards apparently are not going to make their way into Sun Starfires or any other Sun servers; instead, they're for systems integrators who want to build servers that run both Linux and Solaris.
Sun seems more intent on guarding the spot its Solaris operating system has carved out than on adding a serious platform option for Linux users. Last year's Solaris promotional giveaway to developers was specifically targeted at pulling those considering Linux into the Solaris camp.
With most of the top chip and systems makers making huge expenditures developing and promoting Linux on their hardware, it seems inevitable that Linux will continue gaining a place in the technology market. The PA-RISC, PowerPC and Alpha technologies have traditionally been the home of high-end, enterprise-class computing; perhaps they'll help Linux itself become more ready for the high end.
It will be interesting to see what significant benefits the various chip makers will be able to tout for having Linux run on their systems. And I can't wait to see if Intel is seriously challenged over Linux.
Would you run Linux on non-Intel processors? Contact me at john_mccright@zd.com
