NewsFactor: Why Red Hat Owns Linux

“When most people think of Linux, the first name that comes to
mind is Red Hat. In fact, every so often, someone will state that
Red Hat is ‘the Microsoft of Linux.’

“It is true that Red Hat is the clear market leader for Linux
distributions, but it established its market position without
patent lawsuits, predatory tactics or proprietary technology. How
did the company do it, and can it keep its advantage?

“Red Hat vice president Mark de Visser told NewsFactor that
although the company was not the first to market with a Linux
distribution, it became dominant because it made its products open
and available. ‘Our distributions are available for download in
binary form,’ he said. ‘Many companies didn’t do that.’ Instead,
many vendors required users to download and compile raw Linux
source code…”

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