Linux Gets Certified

Sair, Inc. has introduced a “train-the-trainer” series of sessions as part of the international launch of its Sair Linux and GNU Certification program. Training sessions have recently been held in both Australia and the United States.

Seeking to meet the increase in integration of Linux-solutions by businesses — including e-commerce operations — and the subsequent need for Linux certified trainers, Sair has created weeklong training sessions. Sylvan Prometric testing facilities were brought into the program in June to play host.

We’re Not A Training Company, and Don’t Want to Become One

“Sair’s program is vendor neutral, and I was pleased to see how they addressed the various intricacies of each distribution,” commented Evan Bloomquist, training director at Viking Systems of Phoenix, Arizona. “Certification is important in the high-tech industry and Sair has set an international standard for Linux and GNU certification,” added Gramne Newey, director of education at Melbourne, Australia-based EXCOM Education Pty. Ltd.

“Sair is a Linux and GNU education and certification company,” said Dr. Tobin Marginnis. “We’re not a training company, and don’t want to become one. The train-the-trainer sessions, however, enable us to build strong ties and working relationships with the finest professional trainers and training facilities across the world.”

Sair, Inc. is a provider of customer-programmed applications for companies, institutions and other organizations. “The Sair Linux and GNU Certification will be offered in three levels,” stated the company, “each consisting of four tests.”

A GUI For Linux

Xi Graphics, Inc. recently announced the availability of its commercial-grade graphical user interface (GUI) for Linux. The maXimum cde for Linux is based upon a GUI created for UNIX workstations, available from such hardware vendors as HP and IBM.

“Linux benefits from having the same ‘look and feel’ as other UNIX systems — making the transition to Linux smoother for users and providing a larger target market for applications vendors such as Adobe, Oracle, Lotus and Microsoft,” commented Xi Graphics spokesperson Lee Roder.

The OpenGroup — a consortium of companies including Digital, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft and Sun — licenses and maintains the CDE (Common Desktop Environment), a commercial, proprietary GUI. MaXimum cde for Linux includes Motif and CDE built on the Accelerated-X Display Server.

Are You Down With CDE?

“The OpenGroup maintains and controls the GUI,” stated Roder, “and ensures the stability of the Motif/CDE target by adhering to strict standards and offering the product under license to developers.” According to a company statement, “the result is that systems administrators can inexpensively and reliably add Linux PCs to their enterprise network, resulting in a system that’s far more powerful and stable than NT.”

maXimum cde works on Linux packages by Caldera, Debian, Delix, Red Hat, Slackware and SuSE. Linux — a freely distributed OS based upon UNIX — is a trademark of Linux Torvalds.