IBM Gives Away DB2 For Linux (11/23/98, 11:56 a.m. ET) By Shawn Willett, Computer Reseller News VARs and users excited by Linux's price tag -- essentially free -- may be interested in a database for Linux that is also free. IBM said it plans to ship a free version of DB2 for Linux when it is ready next spring. There will be no run-time charge for the database. "This seems to be the right thing to do," said Jeff Jones, program manager for data-management software at IBM, in Armonk, N.Y. The version for Linux will not have the high-end features such as clustering or parallel processing. However, it will support SQL-J and include net.data, a tool for building Web applications. IBM's DB2 for Linux is in beta and is scheduled to be available by March 1999. IBM will not provide phone support for the free product. "We will be opening up a moderated discussion group on the Web that will be open 24 hours a day," said Jones. According to Jones, DB2 for Linux is ideal for ISPs and educational sites. IBM VARs agreed Linux will be most popular as a Web server platform and for academic sites. "We see extremely strong demand, especially in small businesses and especially in Web businesses," said Bud Braseir, president of Emerging Technology Solutions, in Denver. "I don't have customers asking for it, but from an ISP standpoint, Linux is easier to use than any other platform, and we can access through Linux all our AS/400s and NT Servers," said Sean Priddy, president of Houston On-Site, in Houston. "We believe you will see more [Linux] especially at colleges, and all the students coming out of schools -- that is what they are used to," he said. From MAILER-DAEMON@cs.depaul.edu Tue Nov 24 10:32:31 1998