Compaq stands firm on Linux

Compaq has reiterated its support for Linux, saying it won't abandon the free operating system simply because of pressure from Microsoft.

The comments came on Friday from Jon "Mad Dog" Hall, senior leader of Compaq's Unix software group. Hall said senior people at Compaq had "had a word or two" with Microsoft about the company's work with Linux, but that Compaq could not ignore customer demand. "If we didn't sell Linux then somebody else would, and Microsoft just has to understand that," Hall commented.

Hall was working for Digital in 1994 when he first met Linus Torvalds. He said he was so impressed with Linux that he offered to port it to the Alpha server. He recommended Linux over Unix and NT for some uses, including Internet service provider (ISP) use, firewalls, DNS servers, and point-of-sale terminals. "It's also good for vertical marketplaces, where you're going to do your port one time and then deploy it 50,000 times," he noted. "You don't have to pay the cost of the operating systems over again."

Compaq has no plans to bundle Linux onto the desktop for the mass market, according to Hall. He said the company prefers to leave that to its resellers, so users can choose which Linux distribution they want.

But he is optimistic about the future of Torvalds' brainchild. "If I thought Linux was only going to be used by old Unix hackers like me, I probably would not be interested in the market," he said. "We all say the future of Linux is world domination with a smile on our faces, but we really hope that we would give people an alternative to one operating system being the be-all-and-end-all operating system."