However, we were caught completely unaware - with our pants down - with the interest in Linux. It was standing room only - and we brought in every chair we could find. And I personally had received four "apologies" (I`m glad they didn`t show up). The turn out leads me to believe there is a big interest in Linux in our community.
The presentations touched the right buttons, and the great thing is that the presenters want to do more of this. I was also pleased to see people from the business sector in attendance. This was no "hobbyist" nor "propeller head" function.
Our main speaker was Belinda Schmolke from IBM Johannesburg. She laid it on the line for us. IBM sees Linux as a growing operating platform. Across the whole IBM range, Linux is supported. I was very surprised to hear that SAP R/3 can run on Linux. (Imagine that. A company like DCSA or J&J could choose to use Linux to run their SAP R/3 mission-critical application on.) With these two international ICT giants supporting this "free" product, surely that`s a big vote of confidence in Linux? (By the way, Belinda said that IBM is announcing more things in February and she wants to come down again to tell us about these developments. We look forward to seeing her again!)
Bottom line is that there appears to be a vibrant Linux community in our town -- and they appear to be more than mere hobbyists. Should anyone want to obtain a copy of Redhat Linux on a CD -- rather than try to download it -- then please contact the Linux SIG chairperson Paul Sullivan at cssa@eln.co.za
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