Linux Magazine’s Top 20 Companies to Watch in 2008
Who knows what the future will hold? Well, heaven knows we don’t or we’d have already won the lottery a few times and retired to a private island somewhere. However, we can look at the past to make a few reasonable predictions– such as the companies in the free and open source software community that are going to have a major impact on the market in 2008.
Thursday, January 10th, 2008
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Yahoo!
Last year we tapped Zimbra as one of the Top 20 companies to watch, and that proved to be sage advice — Yahoo! acquired the company midway through 2007 for a staggering $350 million. Pretty nifty for company that made its public debut in October of 2005.
We’re not quite sure how Yahoo! will integrate Zimbra’s technology into its portfolio, but we’re pretty sure that the company didn’t spend $350m to let the open source groupware go stale. It’s encouraging that, upon acquisition, Yahoo! didn’t board up the source code and make Zimbra a proprietary product.
Yahoo! has also been a supporter of open source projects for some time, and has open sourced a bit of its own tools as well. For instance, the company is behind Hadoop! a software platform for writing and running apps that process huge amounts of data.
We also have noticed that, strategy wise, Yahoo! has also been flailing about a bit as of late, but we expect that it will be back on track with a more consistent strategy by the middle of 2008.
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8 Comments 
Surprised to see that there is no Novell (distributor of SuSe flavor) in the list. Any specific reason? or just for not funding FOSS?
if funding is the only reason why would MS be in the top 20?
An interesting, important list. Thanks Linux.
@dsailesh
The FOSS community is pissed since Novell signed a patent agreement with Microsoft and novell pays Microsoft for every Linux box sold. Its the FOSS developers who hardwork Novell sold out.
Richard stallman, Bruce Perens, Samba team, FSF has called a Novell a sellout.
Many hardcore FOSS developers have boycotted Novell version of Linux.
Check out : http://boycottnovell.com
Novell the next SCO :
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/07/perens_on_ms_novell/
You can find more ugly details of the deal here :
http://techp.org/petition/show/1
Microsoft in infiltrating the FOSS and disrupting them by signing license deals using patent threats. It is joining the FOSS camps by using money and spreading FUD. It has even inflitrated the OSI using money and pressure tactics. It wants to put a license cost on Linux. You will soon have to pay to microsoft to use Linux. It main aim is to shutdown Linux using patents and lawyers.
Please sign this petition to bring the old debain leader (Bruce Perens) back in the OSI to stop microsoft from doing so :
http://techp.org/p/7
Check the recent news about partner ship of Novell with Microsoft. Microsoft is putting a lot of proprietary patented software into Linux through Novell. Most of the good guys at Novell have left the company. Microsoft is doing this so that they can sue and threaten other companies like redhat, ubuntu, ibm who support Linux/FOSS once enough code is injected. They want to put a price-tag on Linux.
Novell is just another microsoft sponsored company.
Commercialize Linux.
Google for “evangelism is war” and “halloween documents”
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071023002351958
Lot of things are happening under the surface that dont appear in any press. But be very careful with Microsoft/Novell. They are out to destroy Linux at all cost under the hood.
See more details about the Tax Microsoft wants to put on Linux rendering GPL non-free.
http://www.digitalmajority.org/forum/t-49513/brad-smith-continues-its-fud-spreading-wants-to-tax-redhat
I have just discovered how much I enjoy Linux, (pronounced Freedom)
Now a Greedy Dictator (Microsoft) is trying to take away my freedom of choice?
It seems the more money you have the more corrupt you are.
I cannot believe how Greedy some people are.
Come on Microsoft take me to court I just slammed you, lets make it public knowledge.
Parasite.
You dont invent anything you steal it, add very little and slap your name on it.
Microsoft must NOT be allowed to Monopolize every computer on earth.