Posted on 10/01/2005 5:41:18 PM PDT by N3WBI3
No matter what strides the new generation of open-source companies make, they all owe a big debt to Linus Torvalds. In 1991 the Finnish programmer started Linux as a project at the University of Helsinki. Fourteen years later the reverberations are still being felt. Thanks to support from giant companies such as Dell Computer (DELL ) and IBM (IBM ), Linux is now commonplace on big corporate servers -- posting 11 consecutive quarters of growth, according to market researcher IDC.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...
I wouldn't invest in IT at all right now, too much pressure on it all by open source threats. The biggest company pushing open source software, IBM, is off 20+% for the year.
Linux distros are taking market share from other OS: Solaris, AIX, Windose. That's why you see SUN, IBM, etc supporting Linux distros on their hardware.
Not from Windows, according to all the latest data I've seen. It's still up around 90% of desktops and 70% of servers, based on quantity shipments, excluding pirated copies.
Heh! No you aren't
Linux drives world-wide server sales boom
Unless the boys in Redmond can bring something fresh to the table, they're seeing their zenith.
Now, unlike most Linux fans, I firmly believe that Windows will *always* trounce Linux on the desktop as it was designed ground-up for that purpose. In fact, I just emerged from a company in-fight over this very fact victorious. (Back to Windows clients for small/medium customers - Thank God!)
As long as Windows remains Windows, though, Linux will *own* the small/medium server market in 8-10 years. Bank on it.
So, post hoc ergo propter hoc, eh?
Just because the source code is open and free, the support, maintanence and specialized development isn't.
IBM and the others aren't pushing it out of philanthropy or idealism. ;)
That Linux means "no money" is a fallacy. Plenty to make off of it.
They probably are, when you're at 90% of desktops and 70% of servers being shipped, there's not much ceiling room left. Linux is just another fragment of Unix, practically speaking, and that fragmentation of the entire family is what's going to keep it at a perpetual minority. In that space I'd like to see a resurgence of Apple or Sun myself, instead of all this free software possibly putting those companies out of business. Out.
The server room is another story. Windows has a long, single user legacy and they have waited soooo long to drop it and move on. Of course, there were/are a lot of complications to doing it. A lot of apple carts will upset. It HAS to be done, though. Maybe Vista will finally be Cairo when it is said and done. I somehow doubt it though. Microsoft doesn't really take chances anymore.
Not really. It's the same as the sector I write software for (Accounting and business management). There's only so many ways to accomplish the tasks. Accounting is accounting. File/DB/Directory services are File/DB/Directory services.
When you think about it, we really haven't done much more than invent acronyms for the past 20 years. Hardware has improved and has enabled the software to be prettier, yes. Still doing the same darned things though :)
If you're looking for a really NEW thing, it would be an OS that is equally adept at both the server and desktop roles and beats all comers in both areas. Not sure it would come from Windows or Unix/Linux as both are pretty set in their ways. I don't think Apple will come up with it as they seem more concerned about the color and style of their cases than they do anything else at times :)
Well, yeah. They've reached the pinnacle of success. Once you reach the tip of the mountain there is no place else to go but down. What else could they do ... go up while competing with open source operating systems?
Apple, *is* experiencing a resurgence because they are doing it properly. They leverage an open variant of BSD under the hood because it is stronger and more robust than anything they could come up with. They then put their proprietary desktop (which is more robust than anything the open source community could come up with) over-top it. Also, the iPod sure doesn't hurt.
I know a lot of Sun employees. Almost took a job there at one point. Linux is just one of the problems they face. Their biggest problem is idiotic management. They are starting to remind me of Borland - post Phillipe Kahn.
Other companies need not go out of business. They need only to follow Apple's example or come up with something the market cannot resist (Though, what that would be is a good question). Hiding behind the legal system will not help them in the long run as it would take a universal movement and, frankly, no-one wants to willingly get in bed with the EU for it to happen.
Unless there are a lot of people like me.
I've had various linux desktop distributions installed for short periods of time over the years. It hasn't "taken" so far, but that's about to change.
I just pulled a spare Intel box out of my office and brought it home. I'm going to dump Windows XP and put SuSE and Ximian on it. I'm no computer wonk (my son is), but I'm sick of Microsoft and its sycophants pushing Microsoft as if western civilization will fail if anything other than Microsoft has market space.
Microsoft is far too arrogant for my tastes. I need a stable desktop with applications that get the job done competently. I believe SuSE-Ximian will get it done. If I like it on one box, I'll put it on all of them. Then it's: Hello, Linus; goodbye, Bill.
And I have a hunch that SuSE-Ximian will tap into an appropriate revenue stream on switches such as mine. I hope so. I want them to succeed and get even better.
One last post. Windows for Workroups was a breakthrough in simple connectivity, and that was over 10 years ago. I was primarily VMS/Unix at the time, along with Novell, and some of my friends insisted Microsoft would NEVER work as a network O/S. Then we went to a site survey somewhere else and found one guy in a wheelchair managing several dozen servers and thousands of users by himself. Sure he had some help, but not much. It wasn't an accident that Microsoft spread like wildfire across both servers and desktops, their product was literally revolutionary in both it's cost and ease of use.
Linux is a remake of Unix, and isn't even as good as the best Unix like Apple OSX or Sun Solaris. It is growing to replace THOSE products simply due to economics, Apple and Sun are historically expensive. But it's no revolution that will consume everything, nor will it be, simply too hard and too many conflicting versions. The next revolution will be on handheld devices, where Microsoft is already strong as well. They could lose that lead, Sun is a strong competitor there and Apple is moving in. Linux will again be the poor man's solution, as the best products will always have the highest prices, and those that wish to profit from their work will chose to go proprietary, again being Microsoft, Sun, or Apple, although they will all suffer in various ways from the free software threat.
Gold Eagle Out.
That's exactly my point. They've peaked and can only go down from here, yet that's the cycle of every business. Can anyone name one company that's ever hit the top and stayed there forever?
These people are bragging as if it's something incredible that Linux did to achieve there miniscule sucess that took them 14 years to reach. Did it take MS 14 years to become #1 ... nope. And Linux gives there's away. Yeah, there's a phenominal growth pattern to follow ... give the stuff away and it still takes you 14 years to gain a small piece of the pie!. Who's business model would anyone here want to follow if they could ... Linux or Micrososft? If anyone says Linux they need to go back to their Business 101 class. Microsoft IS the crown jewel to follow as a business model. To become this successful in that short amount of time is amazing.
They can utilize their strength - Strength being the desktop. Open source will not approach them in that area. Too much inconsistency in that area where open source is concerned. Look at the glaring differences between the top two, KDE and Gnome. Too damned much for commercial software vendors to support them and make it easy from a support standpoint. I speak from experience, BTW. It ain't easy nor will it ever be unless something changes drastically.
People will still pay for the convenience of popping in a CD, clicking a few buttons and having their new app install without incident. Not too many non-tech types are willing to do this...
~ tar -xzvf myapp.tar.bz2
~ cd myapp-1.0/
~ ./configure --with-whizbanglib --prefix=/usr/local --with-obscure-option-77
*boom*
main -s "WTF is a gtk+-devel" support@myapp.com Helllllp!!!!!!
.
Were they handed the opportunity to be the OS on the PC destined to become the industry standard? - Yes
They started OUT being number one on desktops by default.
Right. And that's why Linux will never be #1, even in servers.
I used to work with it. Good idea - Poor implementation. Why? It was built atop a single-user OS core (DOS) their product was literally revolutionary in both it's cost and ease of use.
It was more the cost part. We used to use SCO Xenix System 5. Went to WFW for that very reason. This makes what is happening now all the more ironic.
Linux is a remake of Unix, and isn't even as good as the best Unix like Apple OSX or Sun Solaris.
I'll grant you Solaris (I love it). OS-X, however, has some major flaws concerning their handling of threads. More a design issue than anything and it only rears its' head when you try to play server with one. Linux runs circles around OS-X in that area. (I have an OS/X machine and a Linux one) The only area wher Apple whips 'em is, of course, the desktop.
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