[ Thanks to Timothy R. Butler for this
link. ]
“There has been a flurry of announcements in recent weeks
concerning Linux on the corporate desktop. Red Hat announced a new
focus on desktop Linux to complement their server-focused
offerings. Sun Microsystems announced a move into low-cost desktop
systems running Linux, competing with such companies as Dell. These
announcements seem to suggest these companies now believe Linux has
matured to the point where it makes sense to run on a corporate
desktop.“Linux has had numerous obstacles to overcome before being truly
viable in a corporate desktop environment. Issues such as hardware
compatibility, usability, technical support, and software
compatibility have restricted Linux’ acceptance among IT
professionals. Through the hard work and dedication of Open Source
Software developers, most of whom write code for free, Linux has
overcome these obstacles in the past couple years. Because of this,
the recent announcements concerning Linux on the desktop have less
to do with Linux than they do with Microsoft Windows. Many
companies and IT professionals have come to understand the single
biggest reason for Linux’ upcoming success on the corporate
desktop: There is no longer a compelling reason to run Microsoft
Windows on a corporate desktop…”