It's probably the largest Linux installation in the world. Sort of. Last Friday night, a group of Brown University undergraduates unveiled La Bastille, a 10-story-tall version of the famously addictive video game Tetris displayed on the side of the Sciences Library. The game--in which a player tries to fit shapes snugly together as they drop down the screen--runs on a Linux computer connected to a network of 10,000 light bulbs, according to project architect Soren Spies.

Oracle is backing its belief in Linux with continued investment. Its latest deal puts money into TurboLinux, the Linux distributor that is strongest in Asia. TurboLinux will optimise its version of the operating system for Oracle's database software, and will help market the Oracle and Linux combination in Asia.

PSINet Inc. runs 11 Internet hosting facilities worldwide. Last year, PSINet-which already manages thousands of Windows NT, HP-UX, and Solaris systems for its customers-began hearing from a growing number of clients who wanted to host their Internet applications and E-commerce sites on Linux.

A few days ago, RedHat quietly released version 6.2 of its Linux distribution. It was available only as a download at the time of this writing, but should be shipping in shrink wrap by the time you read this. Overall, the new distribution doesn't do much for me, as I'm really only running the OS at the script kiddie level. But for high-traffic Linux server administrators, it provides some useful new features.

Lineo, Inc. announced an agreement to acquire INUP, a provider of fault tolerant Linux-based clustering solutions for embedded devices. INUP technology targets high availability CompactPCI (cPCI) and Linux-based clusters that need hot-swapping functionality and redundancy.

TurboLinux Inc. announced a wide-ranging strategic relationship in which Oracle is taking an equity position in TurboLinux and TurboLinux will make available its operating system optimized for Oracle8i.

Eazel, Inc., an open source company working to make Linux easier to use, today announced that it has received $11 million in first round funding from Accel Partners. Eazel is developing user-interface software and system management services that will speed the adoption of Linux on the desktop.

Lineo, Inc. announced the intent to acquire FirePlug Computers, Inc. FirePlug is a leading developer of embedded Linux network application software solutions and also provides strong development expertise in embedded Linux tools.

The goal of Linux Standard Base (LSB) is to develop and promote standards that will increase compatibility among Linux offerings and enable software applications to run on any compliant Linux system. In addition, LSB will help coordinate efforts to recruit software vendors to port and write products for Linux.

Linux and other free operating systems have difficulty competing against entrenched companies such as Microsoft due to the "feedback loop" between consumers and developers. Consumers are hesitant to migrate to the OS because of a perceived lack of mainstream applications, and some developers are hesitant to create Linux apps because they are waiting for a larger consumer user base. The result is a deadlock that has, in part, prevented Linux from widespread consumer adoption.