Re: Off-Topic

[Alan Mead <adm ipat com>]

At 09:49 PM 3/29/00 , you wrote:
> Hello:
>
> I know this is off topic but has anyone noticed the large decline in Redhat
> stock price lately and the news today that IBM has sold off 14 + million
> worth of shares recently. I hope this not a sign of things to come. I always

I don't think IBM got into Linux to make money so much as (1) they 
discovered that their programmers were already involved (there was some 
press about how Linux had stormed IBM without management knowing anything 
about it) and (2) it hurts operating system competition (Sun, HP, maybe MS) 
more than IBM/AIX so it makes business sense (the "enemy of my enemy is my 
friend" reasoning).

So expect them to be rational.  For example, their enthusiasm for Linux 
doesn't have any direct relation to their investments in Linux-related 
companies.  Their support of Linux still makes perfect sense even if their 
investment in Red Hat did not.

-Alan
---
Alan Mead, Ph.D.  /  Research Scientist  /  adm ipat com
Institute for Personality and Ability Testing
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