[ Thanks to Bastion
for this link. ]
“Just a few years ago, LinuxWorld still had a cult feel to it,
even though this was long after programmers and true OS enthusiasts
had begun to latch onto its very smart Unix characteristics and
open source availability in the early 1990s. There were programmers
everywhere willing to share their gaming code and not-for-profit
exhibitors willing to offer open source Linux kernels for the
common good. Those of us who had made the shift to networked PCs
learned first-hand of the stability Linux offered the networking
environment. And for real geeks, it was fun to learn Unix in our
spare time and to get a real nitty-gritty understanding of what
Linux was and how it worked (in case you did not know, Linux is
really a Unix OS).“Enter the corporate sponsors: yes, Microsoft is there, now
singing the Linux tune after realizing that the Linux OS is the
most likely candidate to serve the majority of hand-held
electronics applications within two years, likely knocking out
WindowsCE, not to mention its importance in the realm of
networking. Then there are Intel and AMD, the world’s two largest
CPU suppliers, respectively, that have spent a lot of marketing
dollars to communicate that they, too, are Linux fans. Not to
mention the venture capitalists and investment bankers that now
take the time to ride the subway up to mid-town Manhattan all the
way from Wall Street to circle the booths at LinuxWorld like hungry
sharks.“As the gear makers and chipmakers will tell you following the
healthy attendance levels and interest exhibited at this year’s CES
held earlier in January, the average Joe Consumer wants to connect
his PDA, PC, cell phone, and MP3 player to a network now, and
Linux, for many reasons, will play a big part in the mass move to
connect…”