“After a year of extraordinary publicity for the upstart
computer operating system known as Linux, investors finally get to
vote on whether the touted program is a Microsoft killer, an
over-hyped technology, or something in between.”
“Red Hat Inc. — a fast-growing seller of Linux software
— is offering its shares to the public as early as next week
in one of the year’s most awaited initial public offerings. The
deal, if it takes off as some analysts expect, could be the first
in a string of IPOs from Linux companies.”
“Yet for all the anticipation, investor appetite could be curbed
by the Herculean task facing the recent flurry of small companies
focused on Linux: Gaining ground against the seemingly indomitable
Microsoft Corp. and its ubiquitous Windows program, which runs 90
percent of the world’s desktop computers.”