ZDNet: Linux in 2000: Novelty No More

"This year Linux became more mainstream and popular, while its community lost its innocence."

"The last year of the 20th century certainly had its share of notable Linux events. Taken as a group, these events indicate that something greater has happened to the Linux gestalt in the last 12 months than in any year before."

"This was the year that open source lost its hype and innocence, coming into its own as a model for software development and distribution, as well as the social movement envisioned by the GNU crowd."

"As the year began, day-traders fired Linux company stocks to super-heated levels. As it ends, the bust in stock prices is dramatic -- Caldera, which shot up to more than $30 when it opened in March, looks ready to fall to less than $2 any day now. Other Linux-related stocks dropped across the board -- the LWN index, my favorite measure of Linux company stocks, hit a high of 199 January 10 but now sits around 34. By mid-year, companies that wanted to go public, such as Linuxcare, Lineo, and TurboLinux, decided that 2000 wouldn't be the year to do it."

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