Stocks are back on the rise after bottoming out at New Year's. The 2.4 kernel stream has been released, which means that we should start seeing production-quality versions seeping into the enterprise before summertime. Necessary consolidations are taking place, such as the planned merger of Linuxcare and Turbolinux. Even Microsoft, most open sourcers' primary nemesis, is unwittingly making life easier for Linux advocates.

As far as the 2.4 kernel is concerned, I'm a little surprised that anyone would have taken last week's column for Linux-bashing, as some folks did. Sheesh. I'm not denying that 2.4 is chock-full of significant advances that promise to extend Linux's appeal beyond providing Internet infrastructure. It's just that it's a little too early to celebrate.

Also, let's not forget that the kernel is only one part of what's generally known as a Linux system, and a number of other core components are either due for significant updates or have already been updated.

The milestone I'm waiting for is the release of the first commercial distributions to combine production-quality releases of the 2.4 kernel, glibc 2.2.1, gcc 2.95 (maybe 3.0 if we're really lucky), XFree86 4.0.2, KDE 2.1 (and probably the next release of GNOME). With a little luck, all that should come together by mid-summer. Then it will be time to celebrate because that will truly be a stellar combination of software. (Besides, it's a lot more fun celebrating when the weather is warmer.)

I'm personally pleased to hear about an event that will happen sooner than that: the planned marriage of Linuxcare and Turbolinux. A few months ago I visited the two companies, a short drive from each other in Silicon Valley, and I think they complement each other well. Linuxcare's strength in North America balances Turbo's in Asia. Linuxcare's education services will be a great boost to Turbo, which never quite got its training program off the ground. Linuxcare's consulting services complement Turbo's enterprise Linux products. And Turbo will be able to use the support feedback and expertise of Linuxcare to make its own Linux products even better.

There are only two flies in this ointment, not counting some likely layoffs. One question mark is the effect this deal has on Turbo's newly deepened relationship with IBM. Linuxcare services could certainly be seen as competition to IBM's main Linux revenue streams. The other challenge will be for Linuxcare to maintain its reputation for delivering distribution-neutral services while being so closely attached to one of them.

Microsoft lends a hand
And while things couldn't be going any better for open source advocates, imagine my surprise at how even Microsoft is lending a helping hand to the Linux cause.

In a recent speech, Steve Ballmer recognized Linux as Microsoft's biggest threat. Indeed, he specifically called Linux a bigger threat than Sun or Oracle; can Ellison's and McNealy's egos handle the demotion?

Microsoft is also helping the free software cause through its escalating fight against software piracy. The company is rumored to be including product activation, a controversial type of anti-piracy measure, in future software releases. I've always taken the position that increased anti-piracy efforts are a good thing for free software. Once upon a time, when Microsoft was more interested in dominance than maximizing revenue, it could tolerate illegal copies of its software as a promotional tool. That time has now passed.

Microsoft's move to clean up the pirates will steer more folks toward Linux. The more that companies are required to pay the cost of being fully licensed (not to mention the cost of the associated self-auditing), the more they'll take a closer look at Linux and free software alternatives.

Even the recent turns of events regarding the U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft appear to be working in favor of Linux fans. More detail on that next week.

To sum up, we have rebounding stock prices, new goodies from the developers, and even indirect help from our adversaries. What more could one ask for? This will be a good season indeed. Now if only we had a little less snow...

Do you think 2001 is starting off well for Linux? Tell Evan in the TalkBack below.