| Linux -- The Third Wave |
a guest column by Raj Kosaraju (May 16, 2002)
The following is a guest column by Raj Kosaraju, MIS Director of Maxil Technology Solutions Inc. -- the company which will be distributing ELX Linux in the U.S. and U.K. . . .
Linux -- The Third Wave
Raj Kosaraju
MIS Director, Maxil Technology Solutions Inc.
When Maxil Technology Solutions decided to back up ELX products most people in the U.S. and the U.K. asked us why we opted to introduce a Linux operating system (OS), especially when Windows was considered as the dominant desktop OS. This may be true to a considerable extent, and we do acknowledge the fact that Windows has indeed been successful in penetrating into most of the offices and homes all across the globe -- but the fact remains that Linux is rapidly finding its way into a niche oriented environment where a customized OS is generally more reliable for a particular niche application than a one-size-fits-all OS such as Windows NT or Windows 2000. The Linux community worldwide is working very successfully on ways to make Windows applications run on Linux. All of them have achieved a reasonably easy installation process and feature tech support, and include both the source implementation of the Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Windows NT application programming.
Why Linux Desktop is an OS of the future
The main reason Linux stands a good chance when compared to other OSes, particularly Windows, is that nowadays, most end-users in many parts of the world have started choosing their operating systems. Their numbers may be small as of now but there seems to be a beginning in as far as preferences are concerned. Also, since there wasn't much Linux software available in the past, users used to buy software apps based on their computing needs and then the actual computer that would run that software. Much of the software was developed for PCs or Macs, and most computers used Windows or the Mac OS.
However, things are fast changing. Since 1998, Linux has gained a significant market share in the client operating system space. Although it represents only an estimated 6% of the OS market, Linux is nearly as popular as the Mac OS. Today IT administrators are using Linux on their servers because it's customizable. A customized OS is generally more reliable for a particular niche application than a one-size-fits-all operating system such as Windows NT or Windows 2000. Moreover Linux is considered to be more stable and less crash prone than Windows NT 4.0.
Linux is also enjoying success among companies that use computers for a specific purpose (rather than just general productivity). For example, several retail chains in South East Asia are in the process of installing Linux-based cash registers and terminals. Recently, a big Diamond and Jewelry chain of stores in South Africa decided to change their existing system and replacing it with Linux. A large Pharmaceutical company in North America is contemplating a shift from their existing Mac system to a Linux Based OS. In all these cases, Linux is considered to be a cheap, network-oriented, task-specific alternative to an all-purpose OS such as Windows.
Case for Linux
Linux is small, customizable, extremely Internet compatible, and in most cases is available for free. Among Internets/intranets and ISPs, Linux will continue to grow, especially in corporate America; we'll see a continued adoption. There will be new growth in the areas of E-commerce and business-to-business Internet EDI (electronic data exchange). It will start showing up in all sorts of Internet appliances, including wearable computers, video-conferencing systems, etc. We'll see more and more people use a 64-bit Linux on the IA-64 (Merced). Linux will continue to move into the data center via high-availability clusters and 16- to 32-way SMP systems. Other spiffy features like I2O, hot swap, serial-based server management and control, etc., will find adequate support in the days ahead.
Today we are on the threshold of a new dawn that would foresee a paradigm shift in terms of new adaptive technologies and innovative practices in terms of desktop operating systems. According to IDC Analyst Dan Kusnetzky, information appliances, which can be defined as portable and/or basic computing and Internet access devices, will outnumber PCs by 2005. Because these devices will have limited memory space and cost only a few hundred dollars, developers need an alternative to bloated, expensive OSes such as Windows. Linux is small, customizable, extremely Internet compatible, and free. For this reason, more and more software manufacturers have developed versions of Linux that will run on cell phones, Palm devices, and even cars.
So, although some of us probably may be using Windows- and Mac-based computers well into the 21st century, our cell phones, PDAs, and Net appliances may soon be wearing a Linux interface.
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