“The latest IDC numbers tell a seemingly familiar story: “32 bit
Windows” leads the pack in server operating system unit shipments,
with 36% of the market, followed by Linux at 24%, Netware at 19%,
and Unix at 15%.”
“Why is no one noting the obvious? The differences between Linux
and UNIX are similar in scope and significance to the differences
between NT and Windows 2000, or arguably even less significant. Why
are the 32 bit Windows numbers amalgamated, and not the Linux/UNIX
numbers?”
“…as a user (avoiding all the political and marketing issues
that make us want to draw lines where they don’t really exist)
I say that Linux and UNIX belong together in these kinds of
surveys. The technical differences between Red Hat and SuSe or
Debian are as great, in many ways, as the differences between Red
Hat and FreeBSD. As Kirk McKusick says, all the Linuxes have
the same kernel, but different utilities; all the BSDs have
different kernels but the same utilities. What is so sacred about
the kernel? Solaris and AIX have different kernels too. As a user,
I can move from UNIX to Linux without a whole lot of headaches.