LinuxWorld 2004: Reporter's notebook

Computerworld - NEW YORK -- Last year, the big splash at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo was Linux in the enterprise. At this year's LinuxWorld show, which wraps up today, the big emphasis was on the system management tools needed to make it easier to run a corporate Linux environment.
Management applications and related hardware appeared to be popular offerings at this week's show here, as vendors see companies adopting larger uses for Linux, then moving to fill in the gaps to keep everything working well.
Cyclades Corp. of Fremont, Calif., showed off its Linux data center console management offerings, while vendors such as SteelEye Technology Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., BakBone Software Inc. of San Diego and Shaolin Microsystems Ltd. of Hong Kong unveiled automated disaster recovery products for Linux.
Server provisioning applications and services also drew lots of attention at the show, with Raleigh, N.C.-based Linux vendor Red Hat Inc. unveiling its deep new server provisioning offerings to enterprise customers, and Veritas Software Corp. of Mountain View, Calif., announcing its latest OpForce 3.2 automated server provisioning application, as well as clustering and data recovery offerings.
Black Duck Software offers a code-checker
One new vendor at the show, Black Duck Software of Chestnut Hill, Mass., launched an innovative first product: its Black Duck Enterprise Edition software, which is designed to help software companies and corporate developers keep a close eye on the code that goes into their applications.
The Black Duck software uses a huge database of proprietary and open-source code that can be cross-matched with proposed code to determine if it is new or reused. The goal is to help protect software developers from potential lawsuits over their products.
Cold enough for a penguin
This year's show appeared to be physically smaller than last year's event, but the crowds were still enthusiastic. Fittingly, with outside temperatures in the 20s and wind chills even lower, several vendors -- including Oracle Corp. and Computer Associates International Inc. -- filled their display areas with large walk-in igloos where customers could watch demos and presentations.
But the ensuing "cold enough for penguins" jokes heard during several keynotes and at press conferences were getting chilly receptions by Day 2.
Whither LinuxWorld '05?
Next year's winter LinuxWorld Conference and Expo will be moving from New York's Javits Center to the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, because a larger trade show pushed LinuxWorld off of the Javits schedule. And instead of being held in January, LinuxWorld in Boston will be held Feb. 14-17, 2005.
The first two LinuxWorld shows were held in 1999 in San Jose, then the event moved to New York in 2000, said Beth Wickenhiser, a spokeswoman for IDG World Expo, which operates the show.