News

Big Blue may endorse Linux for the desktop

November 9, 2003

BOSTON -- IBM is expected to endorse the idea of Linux on desktop computers at a conference this week.

According to an article on CNET News, Big Blue has heavily promoted the open-source operating system for use on servers, but Sam Docknevich of IBM's Global Services group plans to discuss how Linux's popularity now has spilled over into the desktop market, according to the agenda for the Desktop Linux Conference in Boston.

Docknevich's speech is titled, "The Time is Now for Linux on the Desktop." The agenda information said there's an opportunity for desktop Linux in "running a fixed-function machine like a kiosk or ATM, a transactional workstation like a bank teller's station, or a basic office workstation that runs applications that drive business processes."

Until now, IBM has favored Linux for use on servers, networked machines for data storage and processing that are typically run by technical administrators. The company has avoided pushing Linux for desktop computers, where Microsoft is overwhelmingly dominant, the article said.