Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 


Forgot your password?
Close
typodupeerror
×
The Almighty Buck

VA Research Gets New Investors 44

Posted by CmdrTaco from the two-scoops-of-veecee dept.
fremen writes "Yahoo has an article about VA Research starting a new round of fund raising. It mentions that it has gained funding from SGI among other companies. "
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.

VA Research Gets New Investors More

VA Research Gets New Investors

Comments Filter:
  • IRIX isn't dying. Linux easily has a ways to go before it appoaches the functionality of IRIX.

    Besides, what is up with everyone expecting that Linux must match every UNIX available? Why can't each be suited to a particular task and let it go at that?

    I can only image how bored I'd get with SGIs if SGI spent all its time trying to make IRIX run more like Solaris...
  • Rather they should bill the event as a PR stunt for the respective companies.... which is what it was... like it or not.
    Actually, my table was fine, except for the fact that I & other people RSVP'd early, showed up early.. and still were not allowed to sit at tables under 6... something that is distinctly not a LUG-type activity.
    Note, this is just a precursor of travesties of abuse to come.
  • If I knew the name of the corporation, I'd sell their stock. If you hack up a bunch of Indys, you're throwing away about $ 600 a unit, which is pretty dumb. Do a search for Indy on eBay and see for yourself.

    (I have a used R4400 Indigo2 which I love).

    D

    ----

  • VA hosts Debian.org, Themes.org, Mesa3D.org, GNU.org, FSF.org, SVLUG.org, and Mail-Archive.com to name but a paltry few. You figure out the other Open Source sites VA hosts; there are quite a few of them. You go find my prior post on how VA essentially donates an entire T3 to Open Source projects.

    I believe you owe VA an apology.



    --

  • SGI? (Score:2)

    by ilkahn ( 6642 )
    Hm... I think that sgi should attempt posting a couple of quarters in the black before it starts spending it's capital in untested ventures...
  • FWIW, VA has kicked a** helping us spec out a major project recently -- they had a custom-configured eval unit in our hands in less time than it took Dell to answer some basic questions about theirs. They get it, bigtime.

  • I think SGI's strategy, in the long run, will
    make it the next HP. The decision to go Intel
    seems evidence of an eventual nasty end..
  • Cool... they changed their name. Anyone know when this happend? I guess adding the keyword "Linux" into their name should help.
  • Yahoo says they have changed their name to VA Linux Systems. When did this happen? The fact that slashdot got their name wrong shows that the change wasn't announced too loudly!

  • damn! (Score:1)

    by gavinhall ( 33 )
    Posted by Assmodeus:

    gee i wish sgi would fund me with an Octane...

    assmodeus
  • Wow.. they must be really struggling to contain costs. With *only* $25M, they donated a whopping $7k to debian at the balug event. That's easily 1/3,000 of this single round of add-on financing. How generous.. *garf*

    $ for $, I think VAResearch and Linuxcare's "fund raising" event at balug was the best marketing money they've ever spent.

    I guess I'm just tired of seeing predominantly PR out of some of these linux companies. "We're donating to linux developers.. see ... see... see... wait.. press comes in first.. here.. take our pictures.. and our t-shirts."

    In my *personal* *opinion*, it was nothing more than a publicity stunt/elbow rubbing session for the corporate linux people.. ie, "Please don't sit in table #6 and below.. those are for the press and to facilitate us to get ourselves quoted and referenced in more news articles." - Not a real quote, a paraphrase.

    *puke*... think I'm gonna go back to slack..

    btw: why don't these guys IPO?? So other people can get a share... I'm guessing they want to placate other companies in the silicon valley so they're not thought of as a threat and summarily trounced upon.. but I'm not sure..

  • I would agree with this sentiment. We just got 2 servers, P II Xeon, 1GB RAM, 63 GB RAID 5, for our new web site and VA Linux was the fastest to the punch. The servers were delivered exactly as ordered. (It was a fairly complex setup with RAID, fail over, and other stuff.) And they completed the spec of the systems in 3 hours and delivered them in 5 days including shipping.

    The fact that they were able to deliver such a high level system so fast was absolutely amazing. I've dealt with Sun, Dell, Compaq, and a lot of others and VA Linux is the best hands down.

  • That's a shame.. VA Research sounds much cooler.
  • I think HP is one of the best examples of a technology company ever. Over half a century of success, a lot of growth, a lot of satisfied customers... what more can you ask for?

    I'm guessing here that you are talking about a specific issue within HP.. not the company as a whole.
  • The Linux hardware vendors are some of the best corporate citizens I've seen in any industry. They wholeheartedly support the Linux community, because they realise that without it they wouldn't exist in the first place. I like the fact that Penguin Computing [penguincomputing.com] is providing servers for sites such as Linux Online [linux.org], 32 Bits Online [32bitsonline.com], and LinuxToday [linuxtoday.com]. Then you've got VA Linux Systems [valinux.com] taking the time to ensure Linux.com [linux.com] doesn't get run over by corporate interests, but instead makes it a community interest site. Not to mention hosting Debian [debian.org], GNU [gnu.org], and Themes.org [themes.org]. You've got to hand it to the Linux Store [thelinuxstore.com] for pushing the envelope for low-cost systems.

    The Linux hardware vendors have shown a dedication to the community and customers that is rarely seen in this generally cruel marketplace. I sincerely hope they keep it up.
  • It's good to see companies like this growing, as it's people like us which need there cool stuff!

  • Re:Linux hardware vendors rock (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    yea, we bought some systems from penguin computing, but later (2 days later to be exact) wiped linux and put NT workstation on cause we needed more power. this was decided upon by our MCSEs which really know their stuff about computers.
  • somehow I don't get how you see it as a PR stunt. in case you didn't notice, these days when linus sneezes he gets press. that was why press was up front, IIRC. I suppose people tend to forget these things.
    --
    Geoff Harrison (http://mandrake.net)
    Senior Software Engineer - VA Linux Labs (http://www.valinux.com)
  • Yahoo "got it right" because they just took it verbatim from PRNewswire's copy of VA's press release. :-)

    VA Research changed its name to VA Linux Systems at the same time as their acquisition of Linux Hardware Solutions. Go back in the press releases - you'll find it there.

  • A PR stunt... as in, exclusive seating arrangements, advanced calls for press to enter first... extensive public acknowledgement for a fairly modest contribution.... overall, it just smacked of a PR stunt, rather than a fundraising event. Several people at my table (out in the back, since I definitely wasn't important enough to rate having a table #1-6 seat) somewhat agreed.

    Every other phrase uttered before and after was some 'thanks linuxcare... thanks VA'.. as though there really was no balug at all. I'm just saying it's a bit hypocritical... particularly when the guy thanking linuxcare is one of their founders, am I right? Maybe I'm just an idiot eh? :-)
  • See subject.

    Chris DiBona
    VA Linux Systems
    --
    Grant Chair, Linux Int.
    VP, SVLUG

  • You are putting words in my mouth.
    I did not say VA is not active in the community, or is in some way taking advantage of the community as a whole.
    I said this "balug meeting/fundraiser" was a farce.... a sharade put on by VA and linuxcare.

    Now, if they had claimed that it was a fundraising event for debian coordinated by VA and Linuxcare that was intended to raise the awareness of all three, I would've gone, listened to it.. and been happy... but disguising it as a balug meeting.... geez.. the guy almost even forgot to mention it was balug while he was thanking people.

    So no, nobody owes VA an apology. I just hope they realize what they're doing.
  • Besides the observation that VA wouldn't want to buy a slower-moving company, VA just moved out of the Shoreline @ 101 neighborhood near SGI, where Microsoft is building their new campus. So there goes the neighborhood... :-)

    VA moved to a 4x larger building in Sunnyvale which was being vacated by Boca Research. It's next to the Lockheed Martin Missiles & Space site, where there will obviously be lots more big buildings to occupy as Lockheed shrinks. ;-)

  • Or will VA buy SGI?

  • They both make high-end ia32 computers running Linux. Why would SGI finance a competitor?
  • My point was, that it was *not* a donation. It was a publicity stunt. I don't care how much they donate.. they made a media circus about it to raise their profile.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Yup. Specifically HP's workstations. HP does
    some things pretty well, like make printers,
    and some weird people like their calculators :)
  • Don't ask me why... ask them why they have to make a media presentation of it.. why do they treat press and key corporate figures differently from others? Why is it that at balug (A linux users group meeting) they had specially reserved seating for their important press friends?

    Yeah, if they were putting forward $1m, *that* would be press and noteworthy.... but it's hardly something in which balug should be involved.. well, except for the fact that all the people who run all the lug are now corporate stooges :-)

Slashdot Top Deals

You know, the difference between this company and the Titanic is that the Titanic had paying customers.

Close