Dell Linux sale not at expense of Microsoft
April 6, 1999 5:15 PM EDT
By David Lawsky
WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - The sale Tuesday of 1,250 personal computers with the Linux Operating System instead of the rival Windows format was not done at the expense of Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), according to the companies involved.
Dell Computer Corp. (Nasdaq: DELL) said its sale of Linux-based personal computers to Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp.(NYSE: BCF) was the first time it has sold non-Windows PCs, although Dell has sold Linux servers in the past.
Dell's deal came as the government pursued a landmark antitrust case against Microsoft for dominating personal computer operating systems. But the sale itself represented no loss of business for the software company.
Anne Birlin, a spokeswoman for Dell in Round Rock, Texas, said the sale to Burlington represented an, "expansion into a new market", permitting her company to compete for existing customers of Unix-based computers.
Mike Prince, the chief technology officer at Burlington Coat Factory, said he had gone shopping for Unix computers and never looked seriously at Windows.
The new Dell offer permitted him to look beyond such traditional Unix providers as Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNW) and Santa Cruz Operations.
"Linux is rock solid," Prince said at company headquarters in Burlington, N.J. "It has a tremendous amount of mind share. It is unifying Unix in a way that it has never been before."
Prince said that, a year ago, he would likely have purchased network computers, which carry little in the way of software or hardware and get all their information from computers someplace else.
Kevin Arquit of Rogers & Wells in New York said that PC makers are now offering Linux because the government has cleared the way.
"Theoretically, personal computer makers have probably been free to use other operating systems for some time," Arquit said. "They just didn't dare do it because of the fear of retaliation by Microsoft."
Prince said he looked briefly at Windows NT, but it was less stable than Linux and, in any event, he was unenthusiastic about mixing in a new operating system with his existing Unix.
Prince said four or five of the new machines will be placed in each of the company's more than 250 retail stores.
The machines will use a Web browser and Java software to run programs remotely from the company headquarters.
The machines will also act as "servers", or central computers, to run the local store's cash registers and other functions.
REUTERS
Wednesday, April 7th, 1999 danlyke@flutterby.com