IBM to buy Red Hat

[michael louwe]

Many companies are still running Win 7 Ent which is due to EOL in Jan 2020. Extended support from M$ post-2020 for Win 7 Ent will cost a bomb. Some such companies may be averse to upgrading to the much more costly Win 10 Ent in Jan 2020. So, Red Hat Ent Linux is poised to gain a lot of marketshare in the Enterprise at around Jan 2020. This is likely one of the main reasons Red Hat Inc has been acquired and at a big premium.

Google only paid US$50 million to acquire Android, a Linux derivative, in 2005.

[BigEasy]

Cost of OS Win 10 is nothing comparing summ of all another windows software installed in whole company.
Nobody will switch to "IBHEL" because nothing will run on it. Please, don't say seriously "Libre office", GIMP, e.t.c.

[lsemmens]

IBM tried with OS/2 back in the 90's, this could also be the death knell for Red Hat. It's a pity because OS/2 was a better alternative that Windwoes 3.11 and '95 back then.

[Hoser Rob]

This isn;t a great surprise. IBM's links with Microsoft are overblown these days. IBM has actually been selling and supporting Linux systems for years. There's a guy around here who used to work for IBM and all he did was Linux support, and he was one of many. They sell medium to large turnkey service and Linux is great for that.

It'll make IBM very influential in Linux because RHEL already is. It's the only major distro that has a develeoper staff that's actually paid.

[altair4]

Funny article over at zdnet:

"As a Red Hat employee, almost everyone here would prefer it if we were bought out by Microsoft."

Now in fairness that was probably Earl who was forced to work on RHELs Samba implementation because of "inappropriate" behavior at last years company Christmas party.

[michael louwe]

All Linux desktop OS users should then unite behind Fedora/CentOS.

<mind image of snow in hell>

.
After 26 years, it's already proven that the free non-commercial Linux desktop OS which is fragmented/disunited, does not work in the mass market place = a minuscule world marketshare of about 2% = no or lack of support from software/game developers and OEMs. Something's gonna give, in order for Linux desktop to break through the Windows(M$).

[michael louwe]

Cost of OS Win 10 is nothing comparing summ of all another windows software installed in whole company.

.
That's because Windows has dominated the business software world since its market-monopoly in the 1990s. Most business software and top games are not available for Linux due to its minuscule world marketshare = "Winner takes all". If IBM's Red Hat Ent Linux and CentOS/Fedora can win against M$-Windows-10, they too will dominate the business software world and top games. It can be done, eg Google Android won against Windows Phone/Win 10 Mobile.

Of course, if M$ responds to the OP topic by returning Win 10 to the previous Win 7 model, ie no more forced auto-updates/upgrades, Windows will continue its dominance and market-monopoly. If so, I'll be going back to the new Win 10, unless Linux desktop changes for the better, even though it will cost me about US$30 for the license of a new OEM Win 10 Home computer.

[BG405]

I imagine that if Microsoft had bought Red Hat, it would result in a mass exodus to other bases .. and I would think Microsoft also has this in mind.

[KBD47]

Remember when Thinkpads used to be made by IBM? I don't believe IBM cares a whit about desktop computing anymore. Nor did they do anything but assure the ruin of the once great OpenOffice. So I am not as cheerful about this acquisition as some. Especially as Debian and Ubuntu can never think for themselves but always follow Redhat's lead, and who can guess where Redhat is headed now?

[Spearmint2]

Wow, you guys are quick. I just hit the news on this today.

Like many of you, after thinking on it a bit, I chose to welcome the news. I'm not sure how that will spread desktop usage, but maybe in time it will, since the top 500 servers in the world all run Linux now. What could be better than having desktop OS that interface with the same type of server system? It's a step in the right direction, and who knows, maybe IBM will look at putting out or giving financial aid to further Linux desktop developments.

[xenopeek]

I don't believe IBM cares a whit about desktop computing anymore.

Everybody seems to be about cloud these days.

Nor did [IBM] do anything but assure the ruin of the once great OpenOffice.

That's falsifying history a bit. Oracle killed OpenOffice. Because IBM had longer-term commitments for OpenOffice towards its clients they required Oracle not to just throw the code away but find a new host (Apache Foundation) for it and IBM kept its developers working on it. Without IBM, Oracle would have ended OpenOffice (Mortal Kombat style) years earlier. It's Oracle's handling of OpenOffice that lead to exodus of developers and founding and rise to dominance of LibreOffice. What original work IBM developers continued to add to OpenOffice was ultimately contributed back to LibreOffice as well.

[KBD47]

Nor did [IBM] do anything but assure the ruin of the once great OpenOffice.

That's falsifying history a bit. Oracle killed OpenOffice. Because IBM had longer-term commitments for OpenOffice towards its clients they required Oracle not to just throw the code away but find a new host (Apache Foundation) for it and IBM kept its developers working on it. Without IBM, Oracle would have ended OpenOffice (Mortal Kombat style) years earlier. It's Oracle's handling of OpenOffice that lead to exodus of developers and founding and rise to dominance of LibreOffice. What original work IBM developers continued to add to OpenOffice was ultimately contributed back to LibreOffice as well.

Yes, Oracle is mostly to blame, but IBM played a part in its demise.

Developers working for IBM were responsible for 60 percent of the changes in OpenOffice, and IBM has been de-emphasizing this work for some time.

https://www.pcworld.com/article/2977112 ... suite.html

https://www.itworld.com/article/2735677 ... curb-.html

[xenopeek]

With all the other developers moving over to LibreOffice because of Oracle's handling, I have a hard time blaming IBM for not sticking with OpenOffice as the cause for its demise. I mean, you can only go against the flow for so long.

[KBD47]

With all the other developers moving over to LibreOffice because of Oracle's handling, I have a hard time blaming IBM for not sticking with OpenOffice as the cause for its demise. I mean, you can only go against the flow for so long.

I just question IBM's commitment to anything.
And then you have one very old dying company (IBM) buying a young vibrant thriving company (Redhat) and it seldom ends well.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/ibm-still ... ese-years/

[Spearmint2]

Open Office, Libre Office, anyone remember Star Office when Sun Microsystems had it? I still have an old version 5 copy they gave away free when Sun was taking it over.

LATER:
Can't find the old 5.2 online, but didn't look longer after finding version 7 for free. I wonder if it still works in Linux after kernel 2.2 versions?

http://www.staroffice.org/get.php
http://www.staroffice.org/SO7/so-7-ga-e ... _GUIDE.PDF

[ajgringo619]

This isn;t a great surprise. IBM's links with Microsoft are overblown these days. IBM has actually been selling and supporting Linux systems for years. There's a guy around here who used to work for IBM and all he did was Linux support, and he was one of many. They sell medium to large turnkey service and Linux is great for that.

It'll make IBM very influential in Linux because RHEL already is. It's the only major distro that has a develeoper staff that's actually paid.

When I worked for IBM 10 years ago, they were fully engaged in the Linux desktop. Most of my coworkers were using RHEL on their laptops and all of our non-AIX servers were using it as well. I can only imagine how much more they are using it now.

[KBD47]

Who thinks Ubuntu is next?
The pressure will build for them to sell now after this Redhat deal.

[xenopeek]

There's no pressure to sell. The US has seen an acceleration of acquisition activity in 2018 in both number of deals and size of transactions. Technology acquisitions are on trend right now. Sounds like what's happening here. That said, there might be parties interested in purchasing Canonical. Don't know if you can pressure a private company.

[BigEasy]

R.I.P., Red Hat.

[KBD47]

There's no pressure to sell. The US has seen an acceleration of acquisition activity in 2018 in both number of deals and size of transactions. Technology acquisitions are on trend right now. Sounds like what's happening here. That said, there might be parties interested in purchasing Canonical. Don't know if you can pressure a private company.

Canonicial has been sidling up next to Microsoft. And Ubuntu has based its business model exactly on the Redhat model. I'm only surprised that Redhat sold first.