IBM Archive

How committed is IBM to the open-source movement? Officially, IBM is the world's loudest promoter of open-source software, spending millions to run Linux advertisements and fund an open-source development lab, and devoting hundreds of its own programmers to cranking out open-source code.

IBM officially introduced its heavily anticipated Power5 server line on Monday.

IBM has created a module to handle Java for its mainframes while released a budget mainframe for midsize companies to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its mainframe business.

In the last decade alone, IBM scientists have announced one semiconductor breakthrough after another:

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With a strategy dubbed Linux-on-Power, Big Blue is pairing its Power platform and Linux as a way to expand its reach into 64-bit computing.

"Although nobody has been able to smuggle out a single screenshot of the top-secret IBM Linux desktop OS—often referred to as Blue Linux—I have friends who have seen it. I am assured that it not only exists, but is being used by large numbers of IBMers. "They are going through a process of eating their own dog food right now," I was told." Read the aeditorial from John C. Dvorak .

Lately, a lot of activity is going on in Linux circles. Novell has become a leading Linux distro vendor, Redhat has raised $600 million in a bond offering, and SCO is making news every day. The article "IBM's Linux Consolidation Plan" is Latif's analysis of the consolidation going on behind the scenes.

IBM announced two compilers for Mac OS X: "IBM XL Fortran Advanced Edition V8.1 for Mac OS X -- A new platform supported in the IBM XL Fortran family" and "XL C/C++ Advanced Edition V6.0 for Mac OS X -- A new platform for the IBM family of C/C++ compilers".

DesktopLinux.com, in coordination with the Desktop Linux Consortium, is making select presentations from Monday's conference at Boston University's Corporate Education Center available. The first presentation in the series is from IBM's Sam Docknevich, Linux and Grid Services Executive for IBM Global Services. His presentation discusses IBM's push into the Linux desktop market, an initiative from inside "Big Blue." Elsewhere, LinuxJournal has a review of some of the presentations in the conference.

IBM has previewed the designs for its upcoming 64-bit Power 5 processor, which the company states will augment total system performance by 40 percent over its predecessor. At last week's Hot Chips Conference in Palo Alto, Calif., IBM disclosed that it was incorporating simultaneous multi-threading into Power 5; the process takes chip multiprocessing to a new level where each chip tackles two threads as opposed to one.

LinuxWorld preview: IBM on Wednesday will announce a new server; a DB2 Linux integrated clustering environment; extended Linux support for the Lotus client and server; as well as three key Tivoli offerings.

IBM's new $3 billion microprocessor factory in New York – where G5 processors are reportedly manufactured – is losing money, the company announced this week. Reuters reports that production problems are affecting the plant.

On its 10th anniversary, IBM Software Group, led by Steve Mills, is taking its winning middleware formula to small business. eWeek also features a long and interesting interview with the Mr Mills.