Ask someone familiar with computers to suggest where the Microsoft  Windows operating system will be in one year and, more than likely, you will hear about Vista, the newest iteration, or about enhancements to XP, the current version. Ask someone familiar with the Linux operating system to answer that same question and it's likely you will be asked which OS you mean.
Linux, an open-source OS kernel developed by Linus Torvalds in 1991, currently claims 15 or more popular variations or distributions, according to Linuxiso.org, a site that offers Linux distributions for downloading.
While Windows has several versions used by millions of enterprises and consumers, these software packages are not the same thing as Linux distributions. For instance, Windows XP, Windows XP Professional, and Windows XP Media Center all share the same interface and are controlled by one developer. Not so with Linux.
This lack of uniformity complicates any forecast of where Linux is headed. But where some experts see uncertainty, others point to a growing acceptance of Linux for server applications and enterprise support.
"Linux has been limited to the edge of the network for tasks like Web servers," said Simon Yates, principal analyst at Forrester Research. "But now we are seeing it gain stature and become part of the server network."
According to a just-released report from research firm IDC, Linux servers generated $1.6 billion in revenue for the last quarter of 2005, the fourteenth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, with year-over-year revenue growth of 20.8 percent. For the full year, Linux server revenue was $5.7 billion, rising to third place behind Windows and Unix.
Changing Perceptions
Yates said that the newest Linux kernel -- the latest stable distribution of which is version 2.6.15.4, according to the Linux Kernel Archives (www.kernel.org) -- is a good operating system for mission-critical tasks throughout an enterprise. He also said that many of the lingering corporate fears about Linux are fading.
Some aficionados say the latest Novell Linux distribution could jump-start a surge in popularity for Linux among businesses. "Linux will start to become more popular in the corporate world because of the latest Novell Linux distribution," said Edward Corrado, leader of the Princeton, New Jersey, Linux User Group. "Novell has name recognition and is much more durable and stable than the other distributions." (continued...)
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