Posted on 09/21/2005 8:31:19 PM PDT by N3WBI3
IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) and Red Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT - news) have announced a joint initiative aimed at accelerating the development and adoption of Linux-based products in emerging markets like China, India, Russia and Korea.
The two companies will provide software developers with implementation services, expertise and technical resources to help them certify new applications for IBM and Red Hat software.
According to IBM, the program will give developers greater ability to build standards-based products that will not lock customers into proprietary operating environments.
Penguin March
In unveiling the initiative, IBM noted that a shift is occurring in emerging markets, particularly with a greater number of customers asking for technology options based on open standards. As part of the program, IBM will offer 29 new Linux skill-building tutorials on DeveloperWorks, the company's online resource for developers.
Red Hat will provide independent software vendors with copies of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, along with supporting documentation and access to Red Hat Network. The two companies will provide developers with resources and support at IBM Innovation Centers in 15 locations across Asia, North America and Europe.
"Red Hat has established leadership in emerging markets such as China, India, Russia, Korea and Japan and we are excited for this opportunity to work with IBM to take the next steps to enable the global ecosystem of developers," said Tim Yeaton, senior vice president of marketing at Red Hat.
Developing Power
The IBM and Red Hat initiative is indicative of the growing sophistication of developers in emerging countries, said John Challenger, chief executive of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
"When you look at countries like India, you see that there's a strong focus there on ramping up the technical education of its labor force," said Challenger.
"Given the growing strength of Linux, it's not surprising that there would be more efforts toward giving those developers more resources and tools to advance in that area," he added.
Ah, that's good news ... thanks ... it's late, gotta turn off the PC, early day tomorrow.
"So I should put you as a "yes"? Thanks."
nice way to duck the question.
XFS is the bee's knees as far as I am concerned.
However, when India gets an economy they will do what countries with an economy tend to do...., they will consume. They will buy goods from us (and will want to develop their own internal production of goods that right now they can only buy from us). If we are still a nation of producers (and I believe we are), then the competition will be good for us and for them.
My concerns are not for Indians working for 89 cents a day. Americans have shown that we can overcome disparities in labor costs up to a certain extent. It is for the willingness of governments and unions to build in regulatory/environmental requirements which will hinder our ability to compete. The response of bureaucrats is "it is ONLY this," or " it is ONLY that much." This may work when we are the only show in town. When the real competition shows up, you suddenly realize that you are strait jacketed. Then, the labor differential is critical because you have no other areas where you can stretch. They are all regulated/controlled.
Just as an aside, I wonder how popular the move "Norma Rae" would be in the textile areas of NC if they released it today? It was all brave stalwart heroism when it came out. Now, all those union employees are wondering how to get jobs in the biotech facilities operating where sewing machines used to spin.
Never turn a new user loose on an RPM based distro!
/End Distro Flame War!
Both of these distros have Live CDs, meaning you can try them out before you actually install them, plus they are Debian based, meaning that you don't have to suffer through the learning curve of RPM.
If you prefer the Gnome desktop, Ubuntu
If you prefer the KDE desktop, Kubuntu
If you don't know which one you prefer, pick Kubuntu if you think the function and layout of the Windows 95-type desktop is pretty good. If you think it's too structured and not flexible, try Ubuntu.
I think RedHat and SuSE have built some wonderful software. For an experienced user, they offer the power of Linux with a support structure that most business users are familiar with.
And not all that hard to install. Maintenance, OTOH, can be difficult. RPMs can cause dependency hell. Stick with a DEB based distro to avoid it until you know what software you need and what software that software needs.
As jobs get exported, those countries will have their standard of living increase. At some point there will be salary parity and the outsourcing isn't a good deal anymore.
There's also the issue of the monetary markets. If the dollar slides, the relative cost of a foriegn worker goes up.
Note that these things aren't relavant if the other country uses prison labor or ties it's money to ours.
Good points and you are right. Unfortunately, by the time things balance out, I'll probably be retired and enjoying life on a beach front condo on Hilton Head Island. =)
You ducked mine ... I duck yours ... Quid pro quo.
If you roll you're own distro maybe but with the modern rpm distros and yum all you need to do is point to a repository. Fedora comes with its own repository which will keep you up to date on everything that comes with the disk by clicking a button a few times. You can also use a third part repository like DAG which has RPM for pretty much everything (and will resolve deps)..
Dep hell went away about 3 or four years ago..
So you're willing to sellout the future of the US, just so you can save a few bucks today? Better watch yourself if you keep hanging out with those that feel that way, even if you don't.
If I chose one thing and only stuck with that one thing, I would still be working on only DOS programming. If that were the case I would find very few contracts. I would be very easy to recognize, I'd be the guy standing on the side of the freeway entrance ramp with the sign that says "WIll Program For Food". Sorry, I am not that crazy. This year alone I have gotten 2 PERL and PHP contracts that will be put on Linux. I am currently working on a huge .Net (C#) project but that ends in November when I will have a Linux based opportunity.
You call it selling out ... I call it supporting my family, paying the mortgage etc.
Microsoft has never been the only OS on the block, nor will it ever be. If you want to learn Java, you don't need Linux, use Sun Unix, who are the actual originators of Java. It's what we do, and what I recommend to others. Don't like Sun, use Apple. There's plenty of other options that have been around a lot longer than Linux.
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