Upside: Chasing Linux

"'Total world domination is just around the corner, in case you didn't notice.' That half-joking, half-serious comment by Linux?s Finnish creator, Linus Torvalds, shows how far his college project has come since 1991. In the last 12 months, Linux-a free, open source clone of Unix-has evolved from a curiosity to a mainstream operating system, one that some say could unseat Microsoft's Windows NT ambitions."

"Today, Linux has become a serious business, despite its basis on noncommercial principles. But is Linux a long-term proposition, or is it fadware or nicheware that will go the way of Next Software Inc.'s Next OS, IBM Corp.'s OS/2, Apple Computer Inc.'s Mac OS or other previous alternatives?"

"Like the Web and the Internet before it, Linux burst upon the scene with a simple promise: Open standards and open platforms mean new market opportunities--opportunities unavailable to businesses pursuing traditional proprietary technology strategies."

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