“In the server market, Linux and Microsoft were supposed to be
mauling each other like jackals by now. Instead they are
contentedly polishing off the bison of Solaris, IRIX, and other
proprietary Unix server software. Linux and Microsoft Windows have
both grown in the server market–Windows faster than Linux.“Linux on the desktop is a similarly confusing story. A
conference on desktop Linux, the first of its kind, was held in the
Boston, Massachusetts area on November 10. The forum allowed the
leaders of Linux and free software development to evaluate the
progress these have made on the desktop.“Linux as an end-user system is at an early stage, but inroads
are impressive. One statistic puts annual growth of Linux on the
desktop at 44%. It is already in heavy use as a limited, kiosk type
of application (point-of-sale terminals, for instance) and as a
technical workstation. More general use is expected to come within
the next couple years…”