HP, Intel To Sign On As UnitedLinux Technology Partners

The news follows UnitedLinux's announcement last week that it had signed on IBM and AMD as the first two UnitedLinux technology partners. Together, the four companies will sit on the UnitedLinux Technical Board and its committees and gain access to pre-release UnitedLinux code, sources said.

At least one linux solution provider said this level of corporate backing is important for UnitedLinux because it will dictate whether it becomes a de facto standard next to Red Hat. Red Hat is also supported by those leading corporate backers.

"The various distributions are trying to offer an attractive foundation that software development companies like Oracle, Tivoli and [Computer Associates] are willing to support," said Anthony Awtrey, vice president of Ideal technology Corp., Melbourne, Fla. "I wish them luck but I think it will end up being the companies like HP, IBM and Dell that will pick the market winning distributions based on who they resell and partner with. Right now that partner is primarily Red Hat, but time will tell."

UnitedLinux is an industry initiative and global uniform Linux distribution developed and backed by SuSE Linux AG, SCO Group, TurboLinux and Connectiva. It is aimed at creating a second leading unform Linux distribution to compete with Red Hat Linux, which has a considerable market share lead in the United States market. Version 1.0 of the UnitedLinux distribution was announced last November.

In November, The SCO Group, formerly Caldera, released the first UnitedLinux 1.0 distribution, SCO Linux 4.0. At LinuxWorld, SuSE Linux AG will announce the delivery of its SuSE Enterprise Server 8, which is also based on UnitedLinux.

At the show, the UnitedLinux organization will also announce its new certification program designed to enlist many ISVs, developers and channel partners.