VA Linux becomes VA Software
 
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" The names have all changed since you hung around, but those dreams still remain... "
The lyrics from the theme song to the 1970s comedy " Welcome Back, Kotter " could describe VA Linux Systems, which underwent a name-change last week to reflect its transformation from a Linux server vendor to its new role as incubator for open source software projects. The company will now be called VA Software.
The name change was voted by the company's shareholders, almost five months after it quit the Linux server hardware business, which was its claim to fame.
It is almost two years ago to the day that VA Linux went public with one of the biggest opening days in history on Wall Street, with a 700% increase in price on its opening day on Dec. 9, 1999, with a stock price as high as $240.
VA Linux was one of the hardest hit by the dot-com bust and the technology market slowdown, as the firm gained much of its revenue from Web startups that needed reliable, cheap servers. In July, the company decided to bow out of the server business, as it could not compete with server giants Compaq, Dell and IBM, which had entered the Linux server market since VA Linux came on the scene.
Though no longer the darling of Wall Street or enterprise and ISP server customers, VA Software will still be a strong force in the open source software area. The company's Sourceforge.net portal is one of the strongest bastions of open source software development and collaboration. The site is the home of thousands of software projects, from games and desktop productivity utilities, to enterprise network management software and even whole enterprise resource planning systems, based on open source code.
RELATED LINKS
VA Linux proposes name change
IDG News Service, 10/31/01
VA Linux exits hardware business, cuts staff
IDG News Service, 06/27/01
Phil Hochmuth is a Network World Senior Writer and a former systems integrator. You can reach him at phochmut@nww.com.
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