Enterprise Linux

Red Hat Launches Enterprise Linux 5


Red Hat released Wednesday a new version of its Linux operating system, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (RHEL 5). The new OS, which the Raleigh, North Carolina-based company said is more of a platform, is accompanied by RHEL 5 Advanced Platform for server and an updated Enterprise Desktop.

Three prepackaged solutions, based on the Advanced Platform, were also announced. They are the Red Hat Datacenter Solution, a turnkey solution to run a data center on open source; the Red Hat Database Availability Solution, designed to enable existing databases to run as reliably as clustered database systems; and the Red Hat High Performance Computing Solution, a platform for solving computational problems for engineers, financial analysts, and others.

Advanced Platform allows customers "to greatly reduce the cost and complexity of purchasing, integrating, and managing separate virtualization, storage management and high availability software," Paul Cormier, Red Hat executive vice president of engineering, said in a statement.

Red Hat Exchange

Red Hat is also trying to take the lead as the portal for open-source software. It will launch Red Hat Exchange, an online market where users can buy, sell, and rate open-source software, including those from other open-source-based companies such as SugarCRM, Al Fresco Software, and MySQL.

Red Hat has said that Exchange, launching in the second quarter, will offer only software that Red Hat guarantees will work with its products, for which it will offer technical support.

On Thursday, IBM and Red Hat announced their joint efforts to integrate new technologies into the Linux kernel that will offer improved virtualization, security, and real-time capabilities. The features will be available in the new release of Red Hat's Enterprise Linux 5.

The two companies said that the real-time features enable customers to obtain higher processing rates at high levels of reliability. The virtualization software enables several virtual machines to operate on a single server.

Challenging Miscrosoft

"It's clear that Red Hat is moving aggressively to compete with Windows Server 2003 Data Center, Solaris, and HP Unix," said Laura DiDio, an analyst with Yankee Group. "Not just in servers, but also applications, and at the high end."

She noted that the list price for a Red Hat license over three, four, or five years is actually more expensive than Windows Server 2003. "But I.T. people like that they can customize the code," she said, "and that they are not locked into a license with Microsoft."

And can the new Red Hat offerings help Linux achieve broad acceptance at the desktop? "The Red Hat Exchange could provide a major boost to third-party Linux providers," she said, including possibly Linux desktop applications.

Pricing for the OS and for the Advanced Platform will be the same as for the previous versions, Red Hat said.

The U.N. copyright agency that arbitrates more than half the world's "cybersquatting" cases saw a 25 percent increase in complaints last year.

The World Intellectual Property Organization received 1,823 complaints in 2006 alleging abusive registrations of trademarks as Internet domain names.

The complaints came mainly from information technology, financial and pharmaceutical companies, as well as famous fashion brands and the entertainment industry.

The growing number of professional domain name dealers who use computer software that automatically registers expired domain names or temporarily registers them without paying charges, is of concern to trademark owners, WIPO said.

"Domain names used to be primarily specific identifiers of business and other Internet users, but many names nowadays are mere commodities for speculative gain," said WIPO's deputy director-general, Francis Gurry.

Most of last year's disputes have been resolved, including cases brought by Tamiflu maker Roche Holding AG, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and America's Cup-winning sailor Russell Coutts.

Anyone can register a domain name for as little as a few dollars. The arbitration system, which started in 1999, allows those who think they have the right to a domain to claim it without a costly court battle or payment of large fees to buy the name.

But critics say the system favors trademark holders and not individuals who also may have legitimate rights to the names for parody, criticism and other purposes.

Since 1999, WIPO has decided in favor of the complainant in 84 percent of all cases.

TechTrend

Semiconductor Sales Rise in January


Worldwide semiconductor sales rose 9.2 percent in January, boosted by better-than-expected cell phone shipments and strong sales of personal computers, digital cameras and music players, an industry group said on Monday.

Chip sales were $21.47 billion in January, up from $19.66 billion in January 2006, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

Sales for the month showed a seasonal 1.2 percent decline from December.

"Purchasers of personal computers continue to reap large benefits from the steady decline in prices of semiconductors achieved through advances in technology," said SIA President George Scalise in a statement.

Cell phone shipments reached 1.02 billion units in 2006, according to final figures, above earlier estimates.

"Concerns about inventories in the previous quarter appear to have worked themselves out, and the forecast for unit growth in the range of 10 to 15 percent for 2007 appears to be realistic," Scalise added.

San Jose-based SIA has represented U.S. chip manufacturers since 1977.