(E) Marketing - Geek

Business - The OSDL and FSG consortia, attached to the standardization of Linux OS, join the Linux Foundation. This structure will meet the concerns of businesses and vendors on interoperability or legal matters.

The two main international consortia to promote Linux among companies merge: OSDL (Open Source Development Labs) and FSG (Free Standards Group) become the Linux Foundation.
 "Combining our two organizations is relevant because we have functions and members communa" says our U.S. Editor Jim Zemlin, former head of the FSB who became head of the new entity.
The two consortia were created in 2000. OSDL, employer of Linus Torvalds, aimed to expand the adoption of Linux in companies. The organization is particularly mobilized to push the integration of the free OS in mobile in 2005. He also established a technical committee in March 2006 around the Linux kernel.
It should be noted that a month before the merger announcement, ODSL was separated from his executive Stuart Cohen and a third of its workforce, which now twenty employees.
For its part, the FSB has focused primarily on developing specifications for publishers OS GNU / Linux, in order to standardize the main components of their distribution. In late 2005, the consortium has launched a project to standardize Linux on the desktop. By the reckoning Jim Zemlin, the Linux OS standardization brought by the FSB is still insufficient. Â "A lot of work remains to faireÂ".
A single contact for the editors as companies
With the Linux Foundation, Â "it will be easier to provide resources centraliséesÂ," says Jim Zemlin. It will be the sole contact for most queries from professionals who work with or around the Linux OS.
 "publishers as businesses seeking information on Linux can turn to the Linux FoundationÂ," says Benedict Sibaud, president of April (Association for the promotion and research in computer science free).  "The questions may pertain to interoperability of systems, legal issues and the development of software or hardware compatibles.Â"
The April warmly welcomes the merger of the two structures. Â "This clarifies the paysageÂ" says its president.
The Linux Foundation currently has 63 members with the key ("platinum member"): Fujistu, HP, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, NEC, Novell and Oracle. The leader of the Linux OS, Red Hat, is a secondary member ("silver member") alongside dea Bull, Â Nokia and Toshiba.