"An early complaint about the ever-changing world of Linux was the sheer variety of distributions available to users. Reviewers periodically bandied the word 'fragmentation,' ominously alluding to the state of the proprietary Unix market in the 1980s.
"In the past few years, the Linux market has undergone some settling. These days, when most organizations talk about 'Linux,' they're talking about Red Hat. The distribution has risen to the top of the U.S. enterprise market, and it's done so on the strength of its recognizable brand, ease of installation, and numerous deals with companies like Oracle and IBM.
"Red Hat's latest release, Red Hat 9, continues the company's tradition of producing solid offerings that are workmanlike, if not inspired. As with the past several releases, a key part of the package is the Red Hat Network, a services offering that makes maintaining errata for large installations a snap..."
