Linux aims for ease of use
The next key battle for Linux may not be legal but practical, as the open-source operating system tries to make itself more user-friendly
Linux, having just won the fight for mainstream respectability, has moved on to a challenge that's less glamorous but just as important: making itself attractive to the information technology industry.
Past victories for the open-source operating system have included securing a place in product lines from every major server maker, coaxing business software companies such as Oracle and SAP to release Linux versions, winning the trust of major customers, and rising to become one of Microsoft's top threats.
Now, to make Linux a more natural fit for customers, computing companies are extending the software to make Linux easier to manage and run.
Several companies are set to display such wares this week at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in San Francisco. Management software stalwarts -- including Veritas Software, BMC Software and Computer Associates International -- plan to show their expanding portfolio of Linux products there. In addition, smaller companies -- such as Altiris, Linuxcare and Aduva -- expect to advance their ideas; and server companies, including IBM and Hewlett-Packard, promise to tout their own administration tools at the show.
