K-tel stock jumps on Linux allure
K-tel investors hear the sound of money, as shares of the online music company soar more than 24 percent in early trading after it announces its support for a Linux-based system.
K-tel, an e-commerce site that sells CDs, home videos and consumer products, is one of the latest to get a pop to its stock after announcing an affiliation with a Linux company.
Shares of K-tel reached 10.25 before edging back a bit in early trading. The company's shares closed at 8.25 yesterday.
K-tel said that is has moved its e-commerce infrastructure to a Linux-based system using Red Hat's server technology. The music company said it will soon relaunch its Web site with greater functionality, including free online services such as Web-based email, home pages and information services.
"As we continue to see strong growth in our user base, we wanted a system which could effectively take us through the current growth in our volume of site traffic," Randy Malinoff, general manager of K-tel Online, said in a statement. "We have chosen to go with Red Hat Linux due to the system's reliability, speed and cost-effectiveness.
"Most importantly, its scalability allows Ktel.com to expand to the next
level of traffic volume and integrated functionality, creating the technical
infrastructure to support our new Web site, which will be launched in
spring of 2000," he added.
Other companies to ride the Linux bandwagon have included network security product maker V-One, which soared 279 percent earlier this month after announcing its SmartGate software would be compatible with Red Hat's 6.0 version of its Linux operating system. And Learn2.com, an educational software maker, climbed 64 percent yesterday after it announced it would sell Linux tutorials.