> The way Linux is available today or the way it's being > handled/marketed/upgraded, I can't see it overtaking the major OSes unless > as Eric mentioned, one of the major players takes over like Apple did for > BSD.
I disagree. It has recently made some rather major breakthroughs, the effects of which have not yet been felt.. Governments around the world seem, rather uncharacteristically, to be on the leading edge of the switch to Linux. Seen this ? Googling'll turn up several similar articles. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/business/newsid_2023000/2023127.stm> If Peru & Mexico follow through with *mandating* the exclusive use of Open Source Software and France and Germany (soon to be followed by other European nations, I suspect) continue inking these major Linux deals with IBM, Suse and Mandrake, then the future is bleak for the likes of Apple and MS. The sheer size of the installed base will ensure the development of desktop applications now lacking in Linux (multimedia and desktop publishing most prominantly, DTP being an area where OS X remains largely useless also, no Quark yet). People can say what they want about InDesign, but if you, like my wife, are still getting lots of half done Quark documents from others who often made them on peecee's running Quark, then you're not switching, either to OS X or InDesign. Also, the terms of the Gnu Public License make it virtually impossible for anyone to "take over" the development of Linux (or anything else released under the GPL), although nothing prevents anyone from contributing. Any software which uses code from any other source released under the GPL, must itself be GPL'd. This is why MS calls it "socialism" and "cancer". But it looks to me like its winning (as the linked article and others like it seem to show). MJF "the irony is that Linus Torvalds claims to be trying to take over the world and Bill Gates claims to be making a stable operating system" - Who said this ? -- G-List is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- We have Apple Refurbished Monitors in stock! | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-List list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-list.shtml> Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-list%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Macintosh? Get free email and more at Applelinks! <http://www.applelinks.com>
