“Although other operating systems do exist for the PC
architecture (see below), it is felt that only one of these can at
present be considered as a serious alternative to Windows. This is
Linux, a free operating system which has recently undergone a
remarkable surge in take-up and popularity. In consequence of this
it is attracting considerable attention in the press.
“Linux, because of its potential future importance in the
academic community, is discussed in some detail in Appendix A. The
conclusion reached is that as yet there are insufficient
applications available on Linux for it to be considered a serious
option as a general-purpose academic desktop environment. The
situation is however evolving rapidly and within a year or two
Linux could be a much more significant rival to Windows.”