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CNET Special Reports: The Decade in Computing

Thanks to Low, Kuan Loong
for this report.

Linux is listed as No.5 in CNET’s picks for the ten most
important consumer computing products of this decade.

“Everybody knows that operating systems are proprietary.
Windows, the Mac OS, Solaris and other Unix flavors–they’re all
owned lock, stock, and barrel by the companies that put their time
and money into developing them. No outsiders are allowed to touch
the underlying code. Exercising such strict control over products
makes them better. And that, of course, is why they cost so
much.”

“At least that was the popular theory before Linux came along.
But this upstart OS turned conventional wisdom on its ear by
embracing open collaboration among independent programmers
worldwide. The result? A first-rate OS that’s absolutely free.”

“By the time Linux 1.0 was released in 1994, the OS was fast,
stable, and full of advanced features.”

Complete
Story

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