In my article in the June 1998 issue of the KC Computer User (Cost-Effective Network Solutions for the Small and Medium-Sized Office) I referred to the "...explosive growth of the Linux operating system and the Open Source Software movement." I had no idea at that time how far ahead of the game I was - that the growth and media attention that we'd seen to that point was only the beginning of an upheaval in the computer industry that would see this upstart operating system ported to everything from handheld devices to the largest IBM mainframes.
Adding an element of drama to the mix is Microsoft's ongoing battle with the US Department of Justice and the company's apparent inability to grasp the concept of interoperability with other platforms or operating systems. Indeed, Redmond's software "bull-in-the-china-shop" seems intent on destroying any form of competition within its ever widening sphere of influence, whether by threatening hardware vendors and OEMs, selling inferior software below cost to drive competitors out of business, or subverting publicly funded industry standard protocols with the company's own proprietary extensions. As their legal problems mount on several fronts, their reliance on heavy-handed tactics and questionable business ethics is coming under more public scrutiny, but the company seems unable to behave in any fashion other than playground bully.
With Linux trouncing NT in the low-end server market and high-powered UNIX machines selling like hotcakes, the promise (threat?) of "NT everywhere" seems more and more a pipe-dream. At the time of my June, 1998 article, the Linux OS and the Open Source Apache web server had between 45% and 50% of the installed internet server base. As of this writing, Apache weighs in at over 60% of the internet web server base, with Microsoft products continuing to hover around 20%.
The Samba network file and print server has continued to gain in popularity as it improves in terms of features and reliability. With the 2.0x series of releases, a Linux/Samba server can offer not only Windows file and print services to Windows workstations, but can function as a Windows NT domain controller. With the release of Windows 2000 Microsoft has been able to introduce it's latest incompatibility - a proprietary extension to the industry standard, Open Source Kerberos authentication protocol, developed at MIT and funded by US taxpayers. Microsoft is now immersed in a PR nightmare of it's own making, attempting to squelch any attempt at making either Samba or Kerberos interoperable with Microsoft's latest proprietary extension.
Even Microsoft's dominance on the desktop is beginning to show signs of vulnerability. Corel's release of the WordPerfect Office 2000 Suite for Linux, Sun's acquisition of the Star Office suite and the latest release of the ApplixWare office suite for Linux offer both compatibility with the ever-changing Microsoft Office file formats as well as a set of features that rivals Microsoft's offering in power and flexibility.
At the time of my earlier article in June of 1998, the only apparent weakness in the Linux offerings was the perceived lack of technical support. Since that article, IBM and other industry heavyweights have announced 24x7 enterprise support for the Linux OS, both as a separate service offering or bundled with their company's servers, with Linux installed and configured.
Any business owner/operator interested in increasing the power and reliability of the company's computer systems should give serious consideration to adding a linux server or two to the company's network. The low cost of entry is the least of Linux's strong points. Its reliability, efficient use of hardware, and lack of cumbersome licensing restrictions mean reduced downtime and maintenance as well as lower total cost of ownership.