HP Sets Record With $2.5B in Linux-Based Revenue (and other BREAKING TECHNOLOGY NEWS)

eWEEK ^ | January 15, 2004 | Peter Galli

[fight_truth_decay]

Hewlett-Packard Co. on Thursday will announce that it earned a record-breaking $2.5 billion Linux-based revenue in fiscal 2003, with its Linux services and solutions business posting a 40 percent rise over fiscal 2002.

While the revenue was derived from the sale of Linux-related products and services, the Palo Alto, Calif., company did not specify exactly what was included and counted as Linux-based revenue.

[blowfish]

That's just fine. But if they don't produce the product I want, or their stuff is far more expensive that the alternatives, I don't owe them anything.
Your obsession that linux is some evil Finnish plot designed to weaken our precious bodily fluids is humorous; thanks for brightening my day!

[blowfish]

> Limit who controls it to a professional group of some sort instead of some lone finlander,

Lone Finlander?? You really need to get out more...

[July 4th]

Other interesting HP news: Apple is going to license the iPod design and technology to HP. Expect iPod clones later this year at a slightly lower price than Apple's version.

[blowfish]

> The only thing they lack is a cubicle in the ChiCom military-industrial pigpen.

Damn, where is my copy of 'Quotations of Chairman Torvalds'? Ahh, right on top of my copy of the Perl Cookbook... Thought I'd lost it...

[Bush2000]

Except that not using open source won't make it go away. Linux didn't come about due to corporate interest, it came about because Linus wanted to make available a free UNIX-like operating system. It didn't attract corporate interest until businesses discovered that they could make money with it. My use of Linux does not give the Chinese government any more power, and no matter how you lie, you cannot change that fact.

This is what we call moral relativity. It's like voting for the Democratic Party and pretending that it doesn't stand for abortion. Well, it does -- and you can't hide the fact that, by using that crap, you're as dirty as the ones who gave it to the ChiComs.

[Bush2000]

So you also believe that the US government should revoke the legally held copyrights from thousands of software writers. On what authority would that be done, and how would we deal with other countries (and, I estimate that this would be "Every other country on the planet that currently respects copyrights) that refuse to follow suit?

Not at all. I don't believe that the government should compel anyone to yield their copyrights. But I do support people in dumping GPL.

[Bush2000]

Have you seen the news lately? SCO is bullying their own Unix licensees now. That can't be good for repeat business. And how many new customers would want to get into this mess?

Like I said, they're not suing the rest of the Unix industry. You do realize that a letter doesn't constitute a lawsuit, right?

[Bush2000]

Try reading before you post your drivel.

"And before you float the usual canard about commercial vendors doing business in China, let me be clear: I don't think that anyone should help out these Communist/Islamic/Fill-in-the-blank scumbags."

[Bush2000]

Most threatened and actual defections from MS are directly caused by licensing issues and costs. When MS gets a little more competitive on price and loosens up a bit on restrictions, it usually ends up saving its contract. Quit whining and figure it out.

I'm not talking about MS. I'm talking about other Unix vendors, who aren't in a position to compete against free.

[Bush2000]

That's just fine. But if they don't produce the product I want, or their stuff is far more expensive that the alternatives, I don't owe them anything. Your obsession that linux is some evil Finnish plot designed to weaken our precious bodily fluids is humorous; thanks for brightening my day!

You sound like a punk kid trading MP3s: "Well, if only the evil music industry would give away their product for free, I might support them!"

[Bush2000]

Damn, where is my copy of 'Quotations of Chairman Torvalds'? Ahh, right on top of my copy of the Perl Cookbook... Thought I'd lost it...

Have a good chuckle, laughing boy. Will the last American software industry employee please turn out the lights?

[Dimensio]

So you suggest that all people who have released code under the GPL turn their GPLed work over to the public domain? Is that all that you were trying to imply with your comment?

Not that I think that any holders of copyright of GPLed code will bother listening to you. It seems like little more than a pipe dream. Golden Eagle seemed to imply (I could be mistaken) that he wanted all open-source code converted to the public domain through some government edict.

[Dimensio]

Yes, because someone writing their own software and distributing it for free is exactly the same as illegally distrubiting another person's copyrighted work.

[Dimensio]

Yet more drivel, yet you fail to demonstrate exactly how my Debian install benefits the Chinese government. I wouldn't expect you to actually try to support your assertions, however, since we both know that your whininig is totally devoid of any intellectual merit. You've also yet to explain why the people who work to create Linux are as dirty as the ChiComs, but don't worry -- I've already seen the intellectually bankrupt argument on that. It's something like they're distributing their own work for free to anyone who wants to obtain it. This includes people that you don't like. Because the work is available to people you don't like (by virtue of the fact that the creators allow ANYONE to take it, including you), the people who created it are just as dirty.

I guess that you come from some bizarro universe where this is a convincing argument.

[TechJunkYard]

I'm not talking about MS. I'm talking about other Unix vendors...

Same deal. There's still a Unix market out there for the hardware which needs it. HP, Novell and IBM are still selling to that market. And all three are embracing Linux for Intel hardware.

Markets and customer requirements are changing, dude. I don't hear the CRT manufacturers crying about it.

[Gerasimov]

you left some out:

Linux - "it's like UNIX" -- But you don't have to be a programmer
Lindows - "it's like Windows" -- but without the crashes
Samba - "it's like NT server" -- but more versatile and secure
OpenOffice - "it's like MS Office" -- but doesn't cost half a paycheck
Ximian - "it's like Outlook" -- outlook evolved

[Bush2000]

So you suggest that all people who have released code under the GPL turn their GPLed work over to the public domain? Is that all that you were trying to imply with your comment?

Yes. But, as a strong proponent of IP, it's clearly their own choice -- and we shouldn't try to interfere.

[Bush2000]

Yet more drivel, yet you fail to demonstrate exactly how my Debian install benefits the Chinese government.

Simple. You install the software. You (or any of a thousand others) encounter minor issues and seek help online. Bugs are discovered, are fixed, which in turn benefits the ChiComs. You are a link in the chain. It's just like voting for the Democratic Party. You don't like their position on abortion but you cover your eyes and vote for them, anyway. "It's not me who's performing abortions. My vote isn't responsible for an abortion." But you're still enabling it to happen.

[blowfish]

Actually, there are a host of American software companies that use Perl to their great advantage. It's been called "the duct tape that holds the internet together". I make no apologies for using it.
And I *always* get a chuckle watching these Linux/Microsoft flamewars.

[Bush2000]

Same deal. There's still a Unix market out there for the hardware which needs it.

Look, I'm not exactly crying in my beer because big iron Unix vendors are losing ground to clustered Intel/Linux. But there's no question that Big Blue is trying to own the market for high-end by dumping Linux into that space and, thus, making it unprofitable for Unix makers. Customers will benefit, to some degree, but not without the loss of American jobs. If you look longer term, you will see that.