I read the following (see end) in UpsideToday a while back and it had me
interested.

Paul Beach was commenting on the Cobalt developer program (www.cobalt.com).
This company makes Linux (RH) based network appliances.

I see great possibilities for a plug and play Interbase appliance. It sure
suits Interbase's low admin profile. We bought a Qube recently to
investigate this kind of device as a simple way to deploy linux based
solutions under the radar of large IT departments. These people often
question the viability of Linux based solutions but can see an obvious
support point for something like the Cobalt products, and no-one needs to
even mention Linux.

About a year ago I looked the possibility of using Interbase (4.1 for Linux
had just come out) on such a device but concluded that we would have to rely
on MySQL or Postgres since they have both been ported to the Qube's MIPS
architecture (Cobalt also recently announced a i386 based rackmount
product).

Since it seems that Intebase has been looking at Cobalt as a platform I have
some questions. I understand that there may be reasons that they can not be
answered yet but here goes...

1. Given that Interbase went open is this relationship still happening?

2. If so is an Interbase lead MIPS (Cube and MIPS based RAQ) port likely or
is there only interest in the new i386 based products.

3. How hard would a MIPS port be?

4. Is an Interbase branded appliance/support bundle one of the value added
products that Interbase will provide / is considering?

Cheers
Adam Clarke
Principal
Strategic Data Pty Ltd

Ph : +61 (3) 9348-2013
Fax: +61 (3) 9348-2015
Mob: 0419 304-590
Email: Adam.Clarke@StrategicData.com.au
Web: http://www.StrategicData.com.au/
Post: P.O. Box 4262
Melbourne University, VIC 3052
Australia

(http://www.upside.com/texis/mvm/story?id=38b47b860)

Linux Appliances R Us
Open Season
February 24, 2000
by Sam Williams

<snipped stuff before>

One of those observers is Paul Beach, vice president
of sales and marketing for Interbase, an SQL
database vendor and one of the companies participating
in the Developers Network. InterBase was recently spun
off from Imprise/Borland (INPR).

"From a Linux perspective, Cobalt really has the jump
on a lot of other people," Beach says. "They've been
working on this concept for at least six to nine months,
while other companies are only just starting to look at it."

Beach says his own company's relationship with Cobalt
stretches back a full year. That's when the companies
began discussing the possibility of porting the Interbase
relational database over to the Linux platform. With the
advent of the Developers Network, Beach sees more applications
and add-on features weaving their way into the Cobalt product
line.

<snipped stuff after>