Hewlett-Packard Co says it is yielding to large clients' demands and expanding Linux distribution -- a decision that could force Microsoft to reconsider some of its corporate pricing for Windows.
HP announced a wider partnership on Wednesday with Novell Inc and plans to package its SuSE version of Linux with computers bound for corporate clients.
"What's interesting is the possibility it will give Microsoft the impression that it's actually in a competitive market," IDC analyst Roger Kay said. "It would act like a competitor rather than a monopoly and use price as a competitive tool."
Microsoft Corp declined to comment, and an HP executive downplayed suggestions of fiercer competition for the software behemoth at a news conference Wednesday.
"Our Microsoft relationship is good, strong and powerful," said Martin Fink, vice president of HP's Linux division.
Still, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft could stand to lose the most if HP's new venture proves successful.
HP decided to move more toward the Linux platform after "a number of very large customers from Fortune 50 companies" expressed interest in the product, Fink said. Those customers are looking for ways to cut information technology costs, and figure that cutting out the expense of buying multiple Windows licenses would help, he said.
HP already offers Linux options for select client systems, and sells more than 400,000 Linux-based workstations each year. But Fink said most of those clients are in Asia and Eastern Europe, and Wednesday's announcement reflects a bigger commitment to integrating Linux desktops into corporate operations in North America.
Fink declined to offer specific projections of how many more Linux-based desktops the company might sell.
"We want to grow at least as fast as the market, and faster if we can," he said.
The desktops would be available only to corporate consumers. He wouldn't comment on how much the units would cost, saying expenses would vary by client and by distribution method.
Linux, an open-source operating system that's developed by a community of volunteers and paid programmers, has so far found traction mainly in corporate servers, not in desktop PCs. Today, only up to 3 percent of all client computers ship with Linux, though the number is difficult to track since half of them end up in China, where many of the computers end up with copies of Windows installed, Kay said.
"The reality is it's probably 1 percent using Linux," Kay said.
Fink said he expected to roll out the product in the second half of the year.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique