ComputerUser.com: The Linux Meme

“One product (Microsoft Windows) holds a race-is-over market
share on the desktop. Why, then, have two significant training
vendors (Learning Tree International and the Minnesota Technical
College Educators) told me in the past month that their most
requested classes have been for Linux? “

“Linux may, indeed, be the predominant operating system of the
future, for server or desktop computers. I’m not ready to devote
the space needed to join that long-standing debate; suffice to say
that Linux may be positioned to take advantage of some
unforeseeable sea change in the OS market. It is the perception of
Linux that strikes me as surprising.”

“Every new product starts out as an underdog, even those
that try to define a unique new niche. Linux, however, is unique in
the interest and commitment it engenders in IS professionals (and
career changers hoping to enter the field). Microsoft and
Novell are frequently criticized for the profits that their
technical training and certification programs reap, but those
programs both emerged after the launch of their operating systems
created a shortage of support personnel. Both Netware and Windows
were viewed skeptically by the IS community at their initial
releases, and that critical analysis returns with every
revision.”

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