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A L S O__T O D A Y
- - - - - - - - - - T A B L E__T A L K Windows 98: Is it worth the effort to upgrade? Discuss Microsoft's latest OS in the Digital Culture area of Table Talk - - - - - - - - - - R E C E N T L Y Let's Get This Straight Conspicuous consumption, high-tech style New life for old games Let's Get This Straight The Freudian e-mail - - - - - - - - - - BROWSE THE - - - - - - - - - -
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THE LITTLE OPERATING SYSTEM THAT COULD | PAGE 1, 2, 3
Microsoft is well aware of Linux's growing popularity, though it is loath to comment publicly. Repeated press inquiries resulted in nothing more than a bland statement from a spokesman for Waggener Edstrom, Microsoft's primary public relations company. "It's not our policy to comment on specific competing operating systems. I will tell you that Microsoft is committed to interoperability with a number of other operating systems," says Greg Mills of Waggener Edstrom. "We're obviously aware of Linux and customers have told us it is important to provide interoperability -- we do recognize that." Despite the taciturn public stance, Microsoft is clearly paying attention. Last week, a beta tester for Microsoft products received e-mail seeking new beta testers experienced in either the Red Hat or Debian Linux distributions. And Bob Young asserts that when Microsoft sales representatives come to local Internet service providers in an attempt to push Windows NT, their sales pitch is specifically targeted against Linux. "They're watching us like hawks," says Young. But that shouldn't come as a great surprise. After all, a significant portion of Linux's popularity is derived from the simple fact of Microsoft's dominance: Any alternative, no matter how marginal, is cherished by those who resent Bill Gates' monopoly. In corporate terms, the anti-Microsoft strategy is explicit. Caldera, for example, is funded by Ray Noorda, the former CEO of Novell. While at Novell, Noorda bought WordPerfect in a much publicized attempt to go head-to-head against Microsoft. He failed, and eventually resigned from Novell, but has yet to concede defeat. Caldera's marketing of Linux is just one part of a multiprong anti-Microsoft strategy -- Caldera has also taken Microsoft to court, alleging that Gates' company illegally squashes competing operating systems. "Ray has had very personal experience with Microsoft," says Caldera's Ransom Love. "He was aware of things that they were doing that he felt were inappropriate." Likewise, Netscape's and Corel's support of Linux is carefully calculated with an eye to Microsoft. But corporate antagonism is only half the story; hostility toward Microsoft often motivates individual developers. This is particularly true outside of the United States, where the bulk of Linux development is conducted, and where many software developers resent their sense of dependence on what they see as a cutthroat American corporation. "Most people I know in Europe do not value the form of capitalism and the poor social system that is present in the U.S. very much," says KDE's Wuebben. "The U.S. is not seen as an example to emulate. The fact that Microsoft is having a near monopoly in the software industry is not seen as a good thing and that it is a U.S. company doesn't help either. People are actively looking for alternatives. Something that is more international and collaborative in character than monopolistic and American is very much appreciated." That appreciation is far from confined to Europe. Wednesday night, some 60 members of the Silicon Valley Linux Users Group trooped down to the local Fry's computer store to protest the midnight release of Windows 98. The Linux protesters distributed 500 free Linux CDs and, according to their own report, mightily irritated the Fry's manager, who summoned the police in an effort to be rid of them. Direct action in the streets! You won't find that kind of esprit de corps among Windows 95 users. When that passion is combined with the technical excellence that is at the heart of Linux, suddenly the goals of Linux's advocates don't seem that far-fetched. One shortage, though, still plagues Linux's advance: As Torvalds himself repeatedly points out, a great operating system requires great applications. And at present, there is no Quicken for Linux, no Eudora for Linux -- and, of course, no versions of Microsoft's dominant Office Suite for Linux. "Most computer users are interested in applications, not operating systems," says International Data Corporation analyst Dan Kusnetzky. "They'll seek out the applications they need and then buy whatever operating system supports those applications. Almost all of the interesting personal productivity applications run on Windows. ... Until the applications, database software, development tool software, etc., is available on Linux, Linux is not really a strong competitor." Nonetheless, change is afoot. Red Hat's Bob Young predicts that within "the next 12 months," two of the six biggest computer manufacturers "will be offering a Linux-based model." Larry Augustin is shipping Linux-based PCs every day. And he needs help: At last report, VA Research was looking to hire at least three more employees. Today VA Research remains minuscule compared to the behemoths of the computer industry. But if Linux is proof of anything, it is that out of tiny seeds mighty oaks can grow. Augustin has seen it happen before. Five years ago, he was a graduate student at Stanford, busy hacking together homemade Linux boxes while his friends David Filo and Jerry Yang were coding Yahoo. At one point, all three computer science students were considering writing a joint business plan -- but eventually went their separate ways. "Oh yes," says Augustin, when I remind him of his Yahoo connection. "I'd forgotten that not being the third person at Yahoo was my claim to fame." "I don't know if we'll get rich, but we expect to make a difference," says Augustin. "I think that's all you can hope for in any business. I think that it's important to focus on issues like doing what is right for Linux and customers, and not worry too much about the bottom line ... If we can do that, I think we can have the same kind of success as Yahoo." Making a difference, making an operating system succeed, making a dent in the battle for the desktop: The goals require a mixture of the political and the pragmatic, of rock-solid code and evangelistic fervor -- precisely the kind of mixture that companies like VA Research and Red Hat exhibit. Linux still has quite a long way to go -- and there's no assurance that it will ever achieve the "world domination" its evangelists predict. But the little operating system that could is well worth watching. There's never been an experiment in distributed software development as massive and as vigorous as Linux. If it continues to grow and evolve at its current breakneck pace, there is no telling where it will end up. E-mail Andrew Leonard.
User-friendly? Today's versions of Linux have come a long way, but they're still not as easy for newbies as promised. Andrew Leonard reviews some Linux installation options.
Let my software go! Netscape was desperate for a new strategy against Microsoft. Eric Raymond had one. The dumbing-down of programming: Rebelling against Microsoft and its wizards, an engineer rediscovers the joys of difficult computing.
Apache's free-software warriors: Developers collaborate online -- and shake Microsoft and Netscape. Can Linux make a dent in Microsoft's operating-system dominance? Does it have any shot at "world domination"? Come to Table Talk's Digital Culture discussion area and offer your views. |
