“Thursday’s keynote at PC Expo had Mak Bolzern, founder of
Linux Mall, and Jon “Maddog” Hall (executive director of Linux
International) extolling the virtues of “penguin power”— that
is, Linux. Bolzern stated that Linux is the most used operating
system on the Net, while Hall estimated that Linux has roughly 25
million users around the world.”
“In “To B2B or Not B2B: Linux Puts on Its Work Clothes,” Bolzern
and Hall focused on how businesses use Linux, the specific benefits
of Linux over commercial systems, and where the future of Linux
lies. … Bolzern also stressed the advantages of Linux for
business: empowerment, cost savings and efficiencies, security and
stability, and technical advantages. He ended by debunking what he
called the myths of Linux, which included that the OS is
complicated, that any user has to be a programmer, that Linux can’t
make money, that’s it’s a fad, and that it will splinter the way
UNIX did.”
“Jon Hall began his half of the keynote with a history lesson,
outlining the creation of UNIX in 1969, and Linux’s development
from 1991 on. … Hall then reviewed the breadth of companies,
organizations, and governments that have adopted Linux. …
Wrapping up his talk with Linux’s future plans, Hall projected that
since some of the largest applications, such as SAP, have been
ported successfully to Linux, he’s hoping to have 10,000
applications for the OS. And by 2010, he believes that Microsoft
will recognise the platform, and provide a Linux emulation in its
products.”