[ Thanks to Jeff Alami
for this link. ]
“In the microprocessor market, Intel reigns supreme, and this
reign is for good reason. The various flavors of Microsoft Windows
make up approximately 90 percent of the PC install base worldwide,
and Intel has become pretty much synonymous with Windows, hence the
common word merge Wintel. Linux, however, is gaining market share
at an alarming rate, and Linux runs on every major microprocessor
architecture imaginable.”
“Linux has a firmly entrenched presence on the Intel platform.
In fact, Linux was originally developed to run on an Intel 80386
processor. Intel has shown great foresight in embracing Linux and
contributing to the development efforts surrounding Linux. Intel,
for instance, has been working with several other major partners on
the Trillian project, which is the port for the upcoming IA-64
Merced processor, Intel’s next generation processor. As the support
for x86 processors has continued to improve over the years, the
support for other microprocessor architectures has not lagged far
behind. The x86 platform is still the bread and butter of the
existing Linux install base, but the percentage may begin to narrow
in the near future. We will begin to take a look at the other big
three architectures for which Linux is available, but this list is
by far not all inclusive.”
“The Alpha processor is an outstanding architecture for which
Linux is a wonderful option. Compaq, which earlier this year
obtained ownership of the Alpha processor through the purchase of
Digital Equipment Corporation, is readily supporting Linux on the
Alpha processor and views Linux as a vehicle to help boost sales of
the Alpha processor. Linux must now play even more
significantly into Compaq’s strategy for the future of the Alpha
processor now that both Microsoft and Compaq have abandoned the
porting of Windows 2000 to the Alpha platform.”