Linux vs. Microsoft
Michael Bracamontes
We've all heard of Linux and know that it's a "Windows alternative", but what is it really? Who made it? Why is it so different? Most importantly, what does the future hold for Linux? For those of you who hate reading long articles, I've broken this one up into sections so you can scroll ahead and be on time to work (or sleep). And for those that have the time and patience to read the whole thing, hopefully you'll come away with a basic understanding of Linux.
ORGIN AND HISTORY OF UNIX / LINUX
In 1969, before the dawn of the personal computer, developers were working on an operating system for mainframe computers. Eventually, UNIX was formed; an assembler language that was reusable and portable (meaning it could operate on a variety of platforms without being restricted to a particular chip set). In 1973 UNIX was rewritten in C programming language, version 4. Universities around the country got wind of this development and began using UNIX in their curriculum. As a result, computer science students did much of the experimenting and development work. UNIX (upper case) is now a trademark of The Open Group.
Sometime in the '80s, a computer science professor by the name of Andrew Tanenbaum wrote an educational version Unix work-alike. His creation was called Minix, and its purpose was to provide the students with a chance to learn UNIX at home. In 1991 Linus Torvalds, a then student at the University of Helsinki, began searching for ways to get more out of Minix. Later that year Torvalds posted the source code for the new kernel (version .02) on Usenet. Three years later, in 1994, version 1.0 was officially released. Linux was born.
LINUX - THE BEGINNING and THE EVOLUTION
Although Torvalds originally created Linux, it was refined and molded with the assistance of developers around the world. As an OS it provides true multitasking, virtual memory, shared libraries, demand loading, proper memory management, TCP/IP networking, and other features consistent with Unix-type systems. One very important thing to understand about Linux, is that nobody owns it per se. Linux has been copyrighted under the terms and conditions of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
This is a license written by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) which prevents people from restricting the distribution of software. Basically, it states that although you may sell or distribute the named software for whatever price, but you can not prevent the person you sold it to from giving it away for free. It also means that the source code, if altered or modified, must be made available to everyone. This is great for programmers because it leaves them something to tinker with. Thus, if a bug or problem is found in the program, programmers from all over the world have an opportunity to fix it and spread the news over the Internet. The next obvious question is, "how do companies make money off Linux?"
THE LINUX BUSINESS PLAN
If everyone has access to the Linux program, what do companies like Red Hat (RHAT), Caldera, and VA Linux Systems (LNUX) sell? The best way to describe this scenario is to draw an analogy to ketchup. Anyone, who so desires, has access on how to make ketchup. However, the money is there for which company can make their name synonymous with ketchup. Heinz comes to mind. When was the last time you were at a restaurant that didn't serve Heinz? This is exactly what Red Hat is trying to do with Linux. Although they are not the only distributor of Linux, they have been saturating the commercial and consumer markets to make it seem that way. Red Hat sells a CD-ROM version, technical manuals, and support. Sure you can download Linux for hours on the web, but you can also go pick it up at the store and pay $10. That's not too bad considering the price of Windows. And although this is a very viable marketing strategy, for both Linux in general, it is not foolproof. It is important to remember Netscape Navigator. When they first came on to the scene, they gave their software away and found their way into millions of households. However, just as quickly as their popularity rose, did it come crashing down at the hands of the Microsoft juggernaut (or monopoly). So, just exactly how successful has Linux been? It is estimated that somewhere between 33-50% of all web based servers run on Linux. Many techies seem to agree that Linux is a more stable platform, once you get it fully installed. VA Linux Systems Customers include Inktomi, Cisco, eToys, IBM, and GTE. Recently, IBM announced some of its servers would be specifically designed to support the Linux format. Dell also announced that they would ship almost 1500 PC's with the Linux operating system. Today, the once down-and-out Corel Company is essentially a Linux company. Corel expects the bulk of its revenues to be derived from Linux by 2005.
FUTURE OF LINUX
The future looks very bright for Linux based companies. One of the main reasons I say this, is due to the international moves Linux companies have been making, especially in China. With the global market place becoming an ever-shrinking arena, it is important for companies to expand overseas. The Asian PC market (minus Japan) had a record-breaking performance in the first quarter of 1999. China alone is home to nearly a third of the Earth's population. Dominance in that market could propel some companies to unprecedented prominence. Throughout this past year, it looks as if Linux groups already know that. In May of '99 Pacific HiTech, announced the availability of TurboLinux, its flagship product, in Chinese. More than 110,000 units of TurboLinux have already been shipped in the People's Republic of China, said Cliff Miller, CEO of Pacific HiTech. Although 110,000 units may not seem like a lot, it leads to exposure and acceptance which in turn is the initial step to dominance. By July, Pacific HiTech was Asia's leading Linux developer and renamed itself to LinuxTurbo, in order to gain recognition beyond the Pacific Rim. They have already been quite successful in Japan, and hope to duplicate that success in China.
Also joining the Asian market was Compaq China. In September, Compaq China [NYSE:CPQ] began the development of a simplified Chinese edition of the increasingly popular Linux operating system. Called Red Flag Linux, the new distribution will reportedly be the first distribution to support simplified Chinese and GBK, a popular simplified Chinese character set. It will also provide TrueType simplified Chinese display and printing.
Rumor has it, that by mid 2000 Linux will be the dominant OS, in the Chinese market.
CAN LINUX BEAT MICROSOFT?
This is really the question that everyone wants an answer to. Do I have a definitive response? Yes. Is it a definitive answer? No. It is hard to compare Linux to Microsoft because they are not trying to accomplish the same thing. Sure they are both operating systems, but who are their users. As a UNIX work-alike Linux is not very user friendly, for those new to computing, and it requires considerably for attention and time than does Windows. However, for the tech head who wants to be in absolute control of their computer and know what their computer is doing, Linux is the way to go. Many system administrators are finding that, once set up properly, Linux is far more stable than NT. It is not as bloated and offers more options than its Windows counterpart. It's my belief that Linux will overtake Windows in the battle over web servers, network administrators and nerds. However, the battle for the household will not be as easy to take from Microsoft. The home user wants to be able to click a button and get on the web, without having to know what a DMI string is. Thus, overthrowing the giant may involve changing some fundamental things about Linux. But if that happens, would Linux still be as appealing to the techies? Bottom line, as long as there exists two distinctly different users, there will always exist the need for two different operating systems. |
