Issue #38
Last Update May 19, 2005
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Technology Linux Progress Report by David Katz The recent LinuxWorld at the Javits Center in New York was quite a different experience from LinuxWorlds past. This expo made it clear to all that Linux was no longer a fringe product: Linux is now mainstream.
As an operating system, the master control program that makes computers work, Linux has successfully challenged the likes of Sun's Solaris and Microsoft's Windows NT, 2000 and XP for the server market. Servers, invisible to the home user and corporate desktop, are the machines that control websites, corporate networks and the internet, as well as all corporate email, groupware and business application functions.
Previous LinuxWorlds had the feeling of a religious revival meeting, where committed people gathered to have their spirits lifted, meet others with shared convictions, diss the devil (usually Microsoft), and learn something useful. This Linuxworld was focussed on visibility: Linux in the corporation and in the home doing noticeable things. Big players had major booths among the exhibits: IBM, HP, Intel, even Microsoft, a clear sign That Linux has become a mover and shaker in the computing world.
In the background, Linux has been gobbling up UNIX and Windows market slots. Now it is reaching for applications that affect the ordinary user. Star Office and its free spinoff, OpenOffice.org, are being pushed as a Microsoft Office alternative. Three of the LinuxWorld exhibitors (Open Systems, ACCPAC International, and Fitrix) were demonstrating Linux-based corporate accounting packages. SUSE Linux and HP were jointly demonstrating SUSE's Enterprise Desktop Server, which provides email, scheduling and contact management throughout an organization, interfacing cleanly with Windows Outlook users while cutting the link requiring Microsoft servers to tie together the organization.
Several companies were promising Linux for the ordinary home user, as a cheaper and far more powerful alternative to Windows. The key to this, of course, is Linux pre-installed when you buy the hardware, and an ability to continue to run those Windows applications that as yet have no Linux equivalents, or for which retraining or file conversion would be a burden. Retailers such as Wal-Mart are already offering extremely inexpensive system with preinstalled Linux, and companies such as Dreamweavers and Corel have moved to fill the Windows emulation gap.
What does all this mean for the home user, small business owner and corporate employee? It means that, within the coming year, both the home and corporate computer user will be able to enjoy using a computer that doesn't need to be rebooted frequently after mysterious error messages. It means lower cost hardware, because the preinstalled operating system is essentially free. It will mean that the purchase of a computer brings with it a complete set of software, including networking, word processing, spread sheets, MP3 players, photo processing, and groupware, without paying extra, but retaining the ability to communicate and coordinate with friends and colleagues still tied to Microsoft. It means that you can replace CPU's, hard drives or other components without begging Microsoft to allow you to continue to use the MS software you already paid for. And it means freedom from licensing terms that currently give Microsoft the right to invade your computer when you connect to the internet, snoop through your hard drive, inspect your hardware configuration, and make arbitrary changes on your machine if Microsoft feels like it. (If you don't believe they can do this, read the XP licensing terms you automatically agreed to the first time you booted up your new XP system.)
New York Stringer is published by NYStringer.com. For all communications, contact David Katz, Editor and Publisher, at david@nystringer.com
All content copyright 2005 by nystringer.com
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