Fisher identified himself as the general manager of Intel's Core Software Division, specifically interested in a development group known as the Open Source Technology Centre (no relation to us, the Open Source Technology Group). Intel, claimed Fisher, uses Linux in their business and contributes back to the Linux community.

He offered a laptop with a 100GB drive and 17" display, in his description, to the first person who could tell him how many Linux servers Intel has deployed. After much uneducated estimating, someone guessed 50,000 Linux servers are deployed at Intel. Fisher called it close enough and gave out the laptop, while claiming 52,000 Linux servers are deployed at the company.

Linux is used for 100 percent of the work involved in the development of new processors at Intel, Fisher stated.

[...]
The main point of Fisher's presentation was that Intel supports Linux and open source in and throughout its business and contributes back to the community. Over the course of the presentation, he gave out two laptops and two Palm Pilots to members of the audience for answering minor questions of trivia.

When asked if the laptops he was giving out ran Linux, he said "no, but I bet they will within 24 hours." He wrapped up his presentation to the usual polite applause and closed his slide show to reveal the message "Windows XP has locked your desktop," resulting in the single loudest and most sustained booing by nearly everyone present I have ever heard, followed by a member of the audience rushing to the front brandishing a Linux installation CD to widespread applause.

...

On the security front, the kernel is to get its own contact for security issues. Trusted computing -- digital rights management support -- is being implemented for better or for worse in the Linux kernel.

...

China, for its part, said Cannon, is intent on joining the World Trade Organization. As part of the process, it has to synchronize its intellectual property laws with other countries and come into line with property rights. To accomplish this, among other things, China would have to legalize its copies of Microsoft software at an estimated cost of $32 billion paid directly to Microsoft in licensing fees. Rather than going through that kind of expense, China chose instead to invest in Linux.

Brazil, thinking along the same lines, announced a three-year plan to switching 80 percent of its government systems to Linux and funded the project properly to accomplish it.

Cannon wrapped up by reiterating IBM's commitment to release many of its patents to the open source community.

... http://os.newsforge.com/os/05/07/21/0730239.shtml?tid=2&tid=18