HP Now Platinum Member of Linux Foundation
HP now has a seat on the Linux Foundation's board of directors.
The Linux Foundation said on Monday that Hewlett-Packard is making a "strategic, long-term investment in Linux" by upgrading its membership from Gold to Platinum. This latter group of elite members also includes Fujitsu, IBM, Intel, NEC, Oracle, Qualcomm Innovation Center and Samsung.
The Linux Foundation, established in 2000, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux. It sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and provides a neutral environment where work on the platform – including mobile, embedded, open cloud and more – can be accelerated and advanced.
The $500,000 upgrade in HP's membership means that the company will now have a seat on the Board of Directors. The company will also be directly involved in advancing Linux-based initiatives, workgroups, Labs, events, and more that support its business goals.
"Linux is a strategic asset for all major technology companies. With our Linux Foundation Platinum membership, we will have a variety of ways to maximize our investment in Linux and collaborative development that advances our own business as well as greater industry innovation," said Eileen Evans, Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Cloud Computing and Open Source, HP.
HP has long been a contributor to the open source software and Linux communities, and known for its work on open operating systems and the open cloud. It currently sells the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), SUSE Linux Enterprise (SLE), and Canonical Ubuntu distributions of Linux. It also sells a wide range of Linux-based products like HP BladeSystem Servers, the ProLiant Servers, printers, networking equipment and more.
"With one of the richest and most recognized stories in technology, HP has a history of innovation and market success,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director at The Linux Foundation. "Because of this history and innate knowledge of software development, HP understands that Linux and collaborative development can benefit its business across its product portfolio. We’re looking forward to the work we can accomplish with HP."
Currently the Linux Foundation has more than 150 members including AMD, Google, Motorola, ARM, Nokia, Sony, Panasonic, Toyota, Adobe, Hitachi and many, many more.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
-
myromance123 Interesting. I wonder why the sudden upgrade?Reply
I hope this means better driver support for their consumer based products, like the DV3500 which had that fingerprint scanner that still doesn't work under Ubuntu yet. -
blazorthon otacon72"The Linux Foundation, established in 2000, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux."...it's been 12 years and Linux has what .1% market share? Not exactly doing a great job.Reply
Linux has been on hundreds of billions of devices across the world (if not trillions). It started with some guy's home project. You call that "not exactly doing a great job". Sorry, but I have to disagree. It's most certainly not at a mere .1% market share even in the desktop/laptop/netbook markets. It's something like 1% or 2% and then it has a huge presence in the server and lower end markets such as with network routers, phones and tablets (*smart* and otherwise), and much, much more. -
Two things:Reply
1 - Both AMD and Intel use Linux for chip design.
2 - Does this mean I might be able to buy my next notebook with Linux already installed?
Del Ramey
-
blazorthon Del RameyTwo things:1 - Both AMD and Intel use Linux for chip design.2 - Does this mean I might be able to buy my next notebook with Linux already installed?Del RameyReply
You already can do that. There are many places to buy laptops, desktops, and netbooks with a Linux distribution pre-installed and there has been for quite a while now (at least several years). Prices could be a lot better in many places, but they're available. -
azraa blazorthonYou already can do that. There are many places to buy laptops, desktops, and netbooks with a Linux distribution pre-installed and there has been for quite a while now (at least several years). Prices could be a lot better in many places, but they're available.Yup, +1 on that.Reply
There are as well, retailers which offer notebooks without Windows or any OS, saving you money for the key and focusing your money on what you actually need: hardware.
Not precisely a Linux guy here, I just use it ocasionally, but its a great system (Ubuntu), and having to choice to pick a notebook with it bundled its sweet. -
captainblacko myromance123Interesting. I wonder why the sudden upgrade?Reply
i so want to say because of Windows 8 but its not. It simply because of Linux being the underpinnings of many devices.