“Linux has been the buzzword throughout the computer industry
for well over a year now. This past year has seen incredible
growth for Linux in virtually every aspect. What started out as a
college project by one lonely Scandinavian has become the fastest
growing operating system in the IT world today. The success of
Linux is well deserved, as it has enjoyed a worldwide development
effort the likes of which has never been seen before. Linux is a
relative teenager when compared to the venerable UNIX, developed in
the late 60s, and even the various Microsoft operating systems that
have been around in one form or another since the early 80s. Let’s
take a look at what this year has meant to Linux as an operating
system, and the greater Linux community.”
“The computer heavyweights pick up Linux and run with it. Dell,
IBM, HP, and Compaq have all begun offering systems shipped
pre-installed with the Linux operating system. This allows for
companies to forego the time and worry of getting a Linux system
installed from scratch, not to mention paying for another operating
system which they do not intend to use. This also gives companies
and individuals the peace of mind and confidence that the system
they purchase will be able to run Linux without having the worry of
hardware support for some device in the system. These companies are
offering Linux systems on a wide variety of platforms, from the
higher end quad-processor servers, to the much more typical desktop
systems. This choice by the big boys in the PC manufacturing arena
is further validation of the success of Linux, and is a vote of
confidence in the continued growth and success of Linux in
general.”