Caldera and MacMillan USA to Push Linux to Corporations

Caldera Systems, Inc. has entered into a strategic partnership with MacMillan Publishing USA to market the OpenLinux operating system (OS) to the corporate world.

The new imprint, Caldera Press, will publish business-related materials that are based upon the Caldera Systems OpenLinux distribution. MacMillan expects the advanced instructional content to add value to its Que book series.

“MacMillan brings a great deal to the Linux-for-Business table,” commented Caldera Systems president and CEO Ransom Love. “Their position as the largest computer book publisher in the world will make it easier for OpenLinux users to get the level of written support they need.”

“OpenLinux Installation & Configuration Handbook,” the first Caldera Press title, is due out in October. Other titles will follow in 2000.

About The Companies

MacMillan has been involved with the Linux community for almost four years, including an early strategic relationship with Red Hat, Inc. The company publishes “The Complete Linux OS,” a Linux distribution by MandrakeSoft — which is based on Red Hat.

Analysts have identified Caldera Systems as a possibility to be the next Linux-related company to offer a successful IPO (initial public offering). Within the last week, Andover.net and LinuxOne have filed for their own IPO, looking to repeat Red Hat’s recent $4.55 billion (US$) coup.

Applix Enters New Beta Testing Phase

In other Linux-related news, Applix, Inc. (Nasdaq: APLX) has moved WebInsight, its Web site analysis tool for Linux, into beta testing phase. The product allows users to analyze the habits of visitors in order to customize their site.

“Doing business over the Web is a new world, and in addition to static reports on Web activity, enterprises today need to be able to ‘mine’ their Web usage data to find what their customers are really interested in,” stated Jit Saxena, chairman and CEO of Applix. Saxena added that “It is these ‘mined nuggets’ and how a business uses them that separates the externally, customer-focused enterprise from the internally-focused enterprise.”

Web Interface gives customers access to a multidimensional online analytical processor (OLAP) engine, iTM1, which performs Web site traffic analysis and surfer-provided input. The product works with an Apache Web server and provides a spreadsheet interface.

Interested parties can download the beta through the SmartBreak.com Web site, created and maintained by Applix. The site, which was created in July as a developer’s resource, also features a searchable knowledge base with information and documents to assist in solving user issues.

Linux Uber Alles

Linux service providers DI Delta Internet GmbH and ID-PRO GmbH — both based in Germany — have combined forces to push German language Linux-based solutions for the enterprise. According to Daniel Riek, spokesperson for the newly formed ID-PRO AG, the merger will create the largest independent Linux consulting firm in the Federal Republic of Germany.

International Linux providers have not ignored Germany as a possible market, however. Penguin Computing, for instance, develops and distributes German language products and services, and Red Hat has established European operations. Additionally, startup LinuxOne is currently developing its own German language Linux OS.