[Linux-bruxelles] Lu sur le site de la RTBF!

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peut-etre pas -- on verra :

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jens-ingo


UPDATE 2-AOL Time Warner says not in talks with Red Hat

By Reshma Kapadia and Adam Pasick

NEW YORK, Jan 22 (Reuters) - AOL Time Warner Inc. (AOL) said Tuesday 
it was not in talks to buy Linux distributor Red Hat Inc. (RHAT), 
quashing a published report, but analysts said a future partnership 
between the companies would make sense.

A Washington Post article over the weekend reported that AOL Time 
Warner was in "fluid" talks to buy Red Hat, citing sources familiar 
with the matter.

"The Washington Post story is incorrect," AOL spokesman Andrew 
Weinstein told Reuters. "AOL is not in negotiations with Red Hat."

Several analysts said that while a merger did not make much sense, 
there were several opportunities for partnerships between AOL and Red 
Hat, a major distributor of alternative operating system Linux -- 
whose underlying code is freely available, unlike the closely guarded 
proprietary code of companies like Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).

A partnership with Red Hat could help AOL boost subscriptions to its 
online service, while avoiding the dominance of Microsoft's Windows 
on the desktop.

"People primarily access AOL on computers that run on Windows," said 
IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky. "Linux could be a way for AOL to get 
access to software that would drive a consumer-focused network 
computer, which wouldn't run on Windows."

A Red Hat pact with AOL could shake Microsoft, said Martin Wolf, 
founder and chief executive of investment bank Martin Wolf 
Securities, which has advised Red Hat in the past. He noted that 
Microsoft's Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has ranked Linux as a top 
competitive threat.

"Linux, if used properly, cuts the heart out of Microsoft in terms of 
the service space," Wolf said. "I don't see an acquisition, I see a 
partnership. If Dell can make it work and IBM can make it work, I 
think there's an opportunity. And if it's executed well, Red Hat 
could significantly move the markers for AOL."

A Microsoft spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

Merrill Lynch analyst Peter von Schilling said in a research note 
that the two companies could work together on several potential 
deals. One such pact could make AOL a Red Hat enterprise Linux 
customer.

Another could see AOL transfer or outsource its Netscape browser to 
Red Hat to support and bolster its existing Mozilla open source 
project, which developed Netscape's code.

"AOL has an incentive to see the standards-based, independent 
Netscape browser be successful so that consumer Web sites don't 
become dominated by Microsoft optimized 'standards' such as '.NET.'"

The Internet and media giant could also partner with Red Hat to 
create a design road map for software to be built in to electronic 
devices based on Linux/Open Source software.

A Red Hat spokeswoman declined to comment, but said the company would 
be making announcements at Linux World next week -- a conference 
where companies often announce new product launches and deals. She 
declined to comment further on the nature of the announcements.

Shares of Red Hat returned earlier gains and was last down 4 percent, 
or 35 cents at $8.06 in late morning trade. AOL Time Warner shares 
were last off 64 cents to $28.94.

REUTERS