Linux becoming big business

AlfredSokol said: "And why not? Companies love the free open source software. Here's some companies worth looking at in Linux: [url=http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NOVL]NOVL[/url] - Novell the old propietary networker has made a big commitment to Linux [url=http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=RHAT&d=v1]RHAT[/url] - RedHat - the leading maker of Linux installation software. Both of these are definite long-term plays."

HappyHarry said: "Novell is still a bit of a risky bet, but they've managed to survive this long. Red Hat is a decent bet. Their distribution of RedHat is very easy to install and they're rolling out lots of service plans. I have my eye on RHAT stock."

BarbBQ said: "didn't michael dell just invest a bunch of money into redhat?"

HappyHarry said: "Indeed, Billionaire Michael Dell recently invested [url=http://www.forbes.com/facesinthenews/2005/05/10/0510autofacescan10.html]$99.5 million in Red Hat[/url] That, to me, is a very bullish indicator."

Heather said: "That could be a very profitable investment. Red Hat is under 20.00 a share, which is not a bad price at all. Michael Dell obviously thinks this comapny could go places.."

HappyHarry said: "Take a look at the [url=http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=RHAT&annual]Financials[/url] The profit margin is great!"

Avernus said: "[QUOTE=Hathor]That could be a very profitable investment. Red Hat is under 20.00 a share, which is not a bad price at all. Michael Dell obviously thinks this comapny could go places..[/QUOTE] what does "going places" imply?...what kind of figures do you think this company can achieve?"

Heather said: "They are adding server software. They also keep Microsoft from being a monopoly, which is good. Everything is about codes nowadays.."

AlfredSokol said: "Their [url=http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/analyst/earnest.asp?Page=EarningsGrowthRates&Symbol=RHAT]Earnings are trending up sharply[/url] which tends to be a great sign."

BarbBQ said: "does anyone here use their platforms or know someone that does?"

alhamid said: "sure. my friend runs his web host business off or redhat servers. he said they are very reliabel."

HappyHarry said: "On a related note: [url=http://www.geekinformed.com/content/view/285/1/]Redhat releases Fedora[/url]. This way they aren't involved with free development version, but rather the commercial one only. This may have an impact on profitablity."

BarbBQ said: "makes a lot of sense. the better the profit model you have, the better your chances are for making profit."

HappyHarry said: "It shows a change in corporate culture also. Most of these open source companies are "coming of age" and defining more profit opportunities. The free open source community has plenty of volunteers, so I doubt this will matter. BTW, I use RedHat, Apache, MySQL every day and for many years now. All are great products."

acandj said: "Hey guys, you are forgeting one huge company, IBM! IBM like owns redhat, and they are really expanding linux. I personally like Linux a lot, but its only good for programming and prefect for servers. If microsoft would release some things for Linux to use it would be the dominate OS for all computer systems. Businesses not only like Linux cause its free, but because its more reliable for servers."

HappyHarry said: "I agree that the desktop Linux is not great yet, but give it time and it will be."