#Ding-dong! AIX is dead: IBM doubles-down on Linux (as Microsoft gives up)

Sorry

Penguin-power suffocates AIX as it sleeps.

IBM (NYSE:IBM) is pouring more money into Linux. This time, it's to get people to use Linux on its POWER servers. But that doesn't mean IBM is killing AIX. Oh no. Not at all. Honestly. Pinky-swear.

In IT Blogwatch. your humble blogwatcher reads between the lines.

See Don Clark blog. Blog, Don, blog:

Linux continues to dominate data centers. IBM wants more of that action. it will spend $1 billion over four or five years on Linux and related open-source technologies. IBM has long been one of the biggest backers of Linux. It made another celebrated $1 billion pledge in 2000 to support the technology. Since then, Linux has become the mainstay [of] computer rooms operated by big Web companies.

Where will the $1 billion go? To a large extent, on facilities and personnel to help Power users move to Linux. Another planned effort is a “development cloud,”. that customers can use remotely at no charge to help build and test Linux applications.  MORE

Here's Julie Bort (and paid for): [You're fired -Ed.]

Microsoft spent years trying to scare customers away from Linux, at one point even saying that Linux violates 235 patents. But the scare tactics didn't work and Linux adoption grew, in large part due to IBM's vote of confidence.

Servers running Linux now command 23% of new server purchases by enterprises. according to IDC's latest quarterly server report.  MORE

So what about AIX? SJVN permits IBM to address customers' FUD:

What IBM wants. is not to convert its existing AIX customers to Linux. Dan Frye, IBM's VP of Open Systems Development, said.

"AIX remains in place. The AIX customer base is loyal and it continue to sell, so the AIX sales, technical support, and marketing team will be staying in place."  MORE

But your humble blogwatcher interpolates and extrapolates:

Did you get that? IBM isn't killing AIX. Riiiight.

Except the last major release, 7.1, was three years ago. What [Dan Fryre] didn't say is as revealing as what he did say. If I may be permitted to translate his quote from marketerese to english:

"AIX remains in place for now. The AIX customer base is currently loyal, but once they see the way the wind is blowing, that will change. We'll wind down the AIX sales, technical support, and marketing teams over the next few years. As for the engineering teams, err, SQUIRREL! "  MORE

Neil McAllister noticed a switcharound in the Linux Foundation's top-20 kernel-contributor list:

Microsoft. contributed around 1 per cent of all changes [last year]. In this year's report, however, Microsoft is nowhere to be found.

. in this year's report. Red Hat, Intel, Suse. and IBM together contribut[ed] 25.6 per cent of all kernel changes. Freescale, Linaro, Samsung, and Texas Instruments all increased their activity. while Nvidia, Qualcomm, and ARM. made the top 30 this time. Together, these companies contributed 15 per cent of all kernel code changes.

Nokia – which had contributed 1.9 per cent of all contributions in the. 2012 report – also dropped off this year's list.  MORE

Meanwhile Jon Brodkin offers this career-minded recommendation to contribute to open source:

The number of contributions from unpaid developers decreased from 14.6 percent to 13.6 percent. Even though the source code is free, Linux is no volunteer project—it's enormously important to the businesses of Intel, IBM, Red Hat, and others.

The most plausible explanation for the decrease in volunteer[s]. may be that they are getting hired because of their demonstrated ability to write code.  MORE

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