[ Thanks to Brent R. Matzelle for this
link. ]
“The free operating system Linux was another unexpected
result from ad hoc Internet collaboration that has been embraced by
Intel, saving the chip maker $200 million, Busch said.The company ditched expensive Unix servers with proprietary Unix
software and replaced them by cheaper servers equipped with Intel’s
own chips that run Linux software.Linux was developed by the Finn Linus Torvalds, but improved by
volunteer programmers on the web. Everyone is free to use the
program, study the source code and suggest improvements.Busch said it was easy to migrate to Linux because of its
similarities with Unix — Linux is a flavor of Unix. The Linux
servers are used in the engineering and scientific departments of
Intel. The company’s business lines which rely on accounting
software and other office software still use Microsoft’s Windows
2000 as the operating system of choice.”