Found on http://www.usatoday.com/money/tech/2001-06-20-linux.htm Paul ---- 06/20/2001 - Updated 09:02 AM ET Linux laps up more of the server software market by Byron Acohido, USA TODAY SEATTLE — Linux, the free computer-operating system, is winning at least 10% of new computer server software sales, posing an increasing threat to Microsoft. Continually improved by computer programmers worldwide, Linux has emerged as "a very significant competitive force," says Microsoft's President Rick Belluzzo. Linux momentum is building: Inconsequential 3 years ago, the crash-resistant Linux today accounts for 10% to 27% of server software shipments, surveys show. Researcher IDC pegs Linux as the fastest-growing server software 2 years running, complicating Microsoft's hope to dominate servers as it does PC operating systems. Servers allow many users to access software programs. Japan's Lawson uses Linux to run sale kiosks in 7,600 convenience stores. The Royal Dutch Shell Group uses it to crunch data in search of oil, and Boeing to calculate aircraft fluid dynamics. "Linux is maturing faster than any other operating system in history," says Steve Solazzo, IBM's vice president of Linux marketing. Linux is winning big backers. IBM will spend more than $1 billion this year exploring ways to use Linux for large computing chores. IBM, Intel, Hewlett-Packard and Computer Associates recently chipped in $24 million to give leading-edge Linux programmers high-powered hardware with which to test juiced-up Linux versions. Schools, such as Troy, New York-based Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, are using Linux to train software writers. Many, such as recent Rensselaer graduate Christina Carkner, 22, are die-hard fans. "With a Linux machine. .. I'm in better control," says Carkner. That's because the heart of Linux, or kernel, is open and can be continually tweaked. Microsoft's code is proprietary. Linux was created by Linus Torvalds of Finland, who, with others, used the Internet to expand it. Thousands of programmers now work on it because, they say, code should be improved for the good of society. That extends the research arms of firms such as IBM and Intel, which bundle Linux into hardware, and Oracle and SAP, which make software to run on it. "Microsoft is competing against a faceless enemy," says Matthew Szulik, CEO of Red Hat, which resells Linux with services. Not surprisingly, Microsoft casts Linux as a threat to intellectual-property rights. It also says companies want its fuller range of software solutions. "That's where we think we're way ahead," says Doug Miller, Microsoft competitive strategy director.
