Philip Cooper, the president of Bermuda Microsystems Group, wrote me to complain that my commentary two weeks ago, on Linux versus the rest of the world, was “a little one sided in quickly brushing over facts” regarding the Hewlett-Packard's offer to lure Sun clients to Linux platforms.

He's right.

Yes I did brush over the facts, as is necessary in a commentary column, or I would never get to the commentary! But the point is taken. Bermuda Microsystems flogs Sun and Dell server platforms and Mr. Cooper notes that Sun also sells Linux. HP is offering users of Sun Microsystems Solaris system up to $25,000 worth of free services if they migrate to Linux. The ‘Linux Lifeline' promotion offers a ten percent discount on any Sun server or storage system traded in. Mr. Cooper noted that HP's offer is also a direct response to Sun's earlier ‘HP Away' campaign, launched earlier this year. Worldwide Sun has attracted over 40 corporate clients away from HP through the programme, he said. “We are Red Hat (a Linux provider) certified - the only one in Bermuda,” Mr. Cooper added.

Wait! Here's the latest optimistic projection on what technology is going to be the champion of the corporate world. The Radicati Group projects that wireless e-mail will increase employees' productivity over time. Radicati estimates that employees will achieve 55 minutes extra work per day this year with the usage of wireless e-mail, and should gain 80 minutes per day by 2007. Great.

Now we can all take holidays. I wish that one could sue companies like when such forecasts are wrong. How can one measure such a prediction to determine if it is true or not? Send me a wireless e-mail if you can.

Those working in the financial sector will be interested in downloading a new report ‘Protect and Survive - Regulation of E-commerce in the Financial Services Industry' by PricewaterhouseCoopers. “Thinking (on the subject) is embryonic, guidance is patchy, and precedence is minimal,” says PricewaterhouseCoopers about the subject. You can download the report at www.pwcglobal.com.

Internet site developers will be interested in the new draft standards on HTML put out by the World Wide Web Consortium. The draft standards provides practical techniques that HTML content authors can use to ensure that their HTML is easily adaptable for an international audience. Download the draft at www.w3.org.

There are some strange and odd items on sale at Bidboy, an online auction site. Here's a few of what was put up at the site so far this month: ‘Diaper Training/Plastic Pants/ Roleplay Kit', ‘Burned Hindenburg Receipt American Airlines', ‘Lead Lined Rad Can + 100 Radioactive Marbles', ‘Friday The 13th Part 2; Actual House In Movie', ‘Prison Survival Book - Preparing You For Prison', ‘Arnold Schwarzenegger's Turboman Movie Costume', ‘Rare Number 74 St British Sticky Bomb Grenade' and a ‘Nevada Town W/ Possibility Of 10 Brothels'. Buy it all at www.bidboy.com.

Contact Ahmed with your comments at editor@offshoreon.com