Myth no more: Linux software options

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“But there’s no software,” you say while your hands clutch a shrink-wrapped copy of Windows NT. “I need software to work, and although Linux may be faster and less crash-prone, I need to get things done.” Put down that copy of Windows, my friend. Ever since Linux has entered the mainstream, Linux software has been flowing like a mighty river, with more inlets forming every day. The current Linux Software Map lists over 4,100 Linux applications that do everything from sort e-mail to synthesize speech. But what about tools you can use?

Linux spoonfed
Corporate apps
Linux got game
The road to mainstream
RELATED NEWS AND ANALYSIS

Linux spoonfed

Corel’s Corel WordPerfect 8 for Linux scored one million downloads in May 1999. Prior to the introduction of Microsoft Word, WordPerfect was the undisputed word processing champion of the DOS/Windows universe. Corel was one of the first major software companies tossing its hat into the Linux ring, announcing in May 1998 that it would develop all its products for the Linux platform. The company plans to release Corel WordPerfect 2000 and a Linux GUI later this year, and CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT in 2000.

Corel’s not the only game in town, however. Both Applix and Star Division have struck out on the Linux platform with Applixware and StarOffice, respectively. StarOffice 5.1 is currently available for Linux; Applixware 4.4.2 is in QA and due out any second now.

Of course, it wouldn’t be Linux without a free software approach: the Gnome Workshop project is building its own suite of open source productivity applications as well. There are a lot of reasons why productivity tools are sprouting up like digital kudzu. The most convincing argument is that companies can release great software without fear of the operating system manufacturer releasing their own competitive titles, a practice that makes it extremely difficult to compete on the Windows platform.

And if you need to communicate, check out CuseeMe Networks. Best known for CU-SeeMe, the company has decided to support the open source cause by releasing a Linux version of MeetingPoint, a multipoint IP conferencing solution. This was a logical step for White Pine, whose products rely far more on carriers and bandwidth than operating systems. Linux was the obvious choice because of its rampant adoption in the ISP market.

Corporate apps

In the cutting-edge corporate world, Progress Software has taken a big leap into Linux by announcing plans to port application deployment and management products, including its Progress Open AppServer and Progress RDBMS to software vendors and end users. This will allow a greater ability to port over 5,000 business applications to the Linux environment. The flexibility, scalability, and cost effectiveness of Linux appeal to a development market that has a lot to gain by lowering the bottom-line costs of hardware and operating systems.

Meanwhile, in the move-quickly-or-perish world of e-commerce, Magic Software is taking an active interest in the unfolding Linux saga. The newly minted member on the board of directors of Linux International, Magic has begun work on porting the popular business-to-business eMerchant application to Linux. And in the database creation and management category, IBM is further proving its support of open source software by releasing its DB2 Universal Database for Linux. Although currently in beta, DB2 provides JDK 1.1.7 compatibility. The speed, scalability, and security of Linux make it the operating system a prime target for database-intensive applications.

Linux got game

Outside of the office, Loki Entertainment Software (better known as Lokisoft) is making a name for itself in the porting business. Its port of Activision’s Civilization: Call To Power has proven extremely popular, and there are more on the horizon — Bungie Software’s Myth II: Soulblighter, PopTop Software’s Railroad Tycoon II and Railroad Tycoon II: The Second Century expansion pack, and Delta Tao’s Eric’s Ultimate Solitaire. By forging alliances with popular game companies, Lokisoft may have found one of the many keys to financial success on the Linux platform.

Meanwhile, Macmillan Computer Publishing is distributing Lokisoft’s Civilization as well as id Software’s shoot-em-up Quake and Quake II. id Software has proven to be a friend of the Linux cause by being the first major game studio to release its popular games for Linux as well as releasing source code for older titles.

Games are more important than they seem. More than just entertainment, they’re responsible for a large percentage of hardware purchases in the home user market, from 3D accelerator cards to joysticks to faster processors. Porting popular game software to Linux will also make a strong case for Linux driver support from hardware manufacturers.

The road to mainstream

So there you have a select choice of Linux options for office suite, database solutions, communications tools, and entertainment. For Linux to succeed on the desktop, however, we’ll need to see many more.

Millions of users are chained to a platform because of a single application — whether it’s a high-end rendering engine such as Maya or the pedestrian AOL 4.0. Fortunately, if the past year has been any indication of the progress in development, we’re getting there faster than anyone thought possible.ø

E. Charles Plant is employed at Andover.net as a columnist for Slashdot, and is founder of the Time City Project, an Open Source game development group. He’s an avid fan of Due South, and while a U.S. citizen wants to one day serve with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.