Linux

[Steve]

Linux Leaps Ahead

Jesse Berst
Editorial Director ZDNet AnchorDesk 9/28/98


Okay, I admit it. Linux could be gaining momentum faster than I
expected. 

I've always said that Linux could become a serious challenger to
Microsoft's Windows NT. This summer, I laid out the three steps
necessary to make that happen. But I was skeptical those steps would
happen in time. Now it looks like Linux will get at least part of
what it needs this very week. Here's what's going on. 

Validation from Microsoft. Last week, in a filing to the Security and
Exchange Commission, Microsoft emphasized what its executives had
admitted in recent interviews. It now views Linux as serious
competition to Windows NT.

A better interface. Today, Caldera ships Open Linux 1.3. The $59
shrinkwrap upgrade includes a graphical interface that resembles
Windows. 

Big-name, big-money backers. Tomorrow, Intel and Netscape will
announce their investment in Linux distributor Red Hat. Two venture
capital firms are also putting money into the North Carolina
company. The deals have important implications:

"Respectability" and credibility thanks to validation from two of
the industry's powerhouses.

The financial resources to let Red Hat create serious enterprise
versions and add-ons.

The possible emergence of a de facto "favorite" version of Linux.

Further estrangement between Intel and Microsoft due to Intel's
support of a rival OS.

Now the Linux alliance needs to build on this momentum by 1)
rallying around a single graphical interface and 2) persuading major
software vendors to build Linux versions. If they can do that, they
will build the all-important perception of success that could propel
Linux into the mainstream. In a "winner-takes-almost-all" market like
this one, perception is reality. If customers think a product is
going to become the standard, they will buy it. And if they buy it,
it becomes the winner. 

Copyright (c) 1998 ZDNet 




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