Unilever boosts Linux development lab

Consumer goods giant Unilever is joining an open source development group that aims to boost corporate acceptance of Linux by building in high-end features.

The move is a significant one for the Open Source Development Lab as Unilever will be the first member outside of the computing industry.

The lab has been trying to broaden its membership to include those who use technology instead of just those who create and sell it, part of an attempt to gain a better understanding of what features are needed in the open-source operating system.

OSDL was founded in August 2000 by IBM, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, NEC, Intel, Silicon Graphics and Linux companies including Red Hat and SuSE. The sponsorship list has since grown to include newer Linux companies such as MontaVista Software and TimeSys, networking firms Alcatel and Cisco Systems, software vendors Computer Associates, and telecommunications companies Ericsson and Nokia.

Two forces have converged to raise the profile of OSDL in recent months. First was the lawsuit involving Unix and Linux brought against IBM by SCO Group - which had been an OSDL founding member but since has discontinued its Linux product. OSDL's mission to bring high-end features to Linux is precisely what SCO has argued can't be done without infringing on its own Unix intellectual property. Second, OSDL hired Linus Torvalds, the founder and leader of the Linux programming effort, earlier this month as well as Andrew Morton, a key deputy who is overseeing the forthcoming 2.6 kernel, or core, of Linux.

OSDL is looking for members that are not technology vendors, but it's also trying to expand that group as well. Four companies in talks to join are Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Novell and SAP, according to Cohen.

Stephen Shankland writes for CNET News.com