Kurup's reminder on the finer points of the UAP notwithstanding, this article nails it nicely as to why linux has been so successful: Because freedom, while deeply cherished, is not turned into a fundamental article of faith.
Thanks for sharing. P. On Aug 28, 2011, at 11:13, [email protected] wrote: > Sent from [email protected]'s mobile device from http://www.cnnmobile.com. > > At 20, Linux is invisible, ubiquitous > > <Mail Attachment> > > Ross Turk would be happy to explain the tattoo on his arm. > > By now, he's used to the penguin being met with bewildered stares. It > represents, as he'd tell you, the Linux computing software, not the slightly > less obscure character from 1950s cartoons. > > "A lot of people see it and they think it's Chilly Willy or something," the > West Hollywood, California, man lamented in a recent interview. "The Linux > logo is still kind of grass-roots." > > When the then-21-year-old Turk got the logo etched into his left bicep in > 2000, the penguin seemed poised to become mainstream, then appearing > frequently in magazines and on the walls in computer stores. But the software > market tumbled with the dot-com bust, and so too did the Linux brand, choked > by investors' swift rejection then of the open-source software movement. > > Thursday marks 20 years since Linus Torvalds announced on a Web bulletin > board that he'd begun working on a free computer operating system. In that > message, Torvalds described Linux as "just a hobby, won't be big and > professional." > > Now, two decades later, that market breakthrough doesn't seem any more > attainable. And yet while the Linux name and its penguin mascot failed to go > big, the software they embody is more pervasive today than ever. > > Linux's skeleton and spirit live on inside another familiar, adorable mascot: > the green robot that represents Google's Android operating system. That > software, which powers 43% of smartphones worldwide, many tablets and the > Google TV set-top boxes, was developed with Linux at its core. Google's > Chrome OS for laptops is also based on Linux. > > Another mobile system, webOS, sprouted from Linux. Hewlett-Packard says > webOS, not the hardware that runs it, is a key asset from its acquisition > last year of Palm. This month, HP took steps to discontinue its gadget > production arm, but it will keep webOS. HP has discussed licensing the > software to other vendors in order to expand webOS's reach, perhaps into > computing platforms on appliances and in cars. > > Linux is already commonly installed on refrigerators with built-in TVs, car > navigation systems, in-flight entertainment systems, public transit displays, > ATMs and countless other machines. The Smart TV from Samsung Electronics, > which competes with the Google TV, is also based on Linux. Sony previously > allowed tinkerers to install versions of Linux onto their PlayStation > consoles. > > Whether you're aware of it or not, Linux is practically everywhere. > > "The fact that you don't have to call it Linux is what makes Linux work," > said Jim Zemlin, the executive director of the Linux Foundation. His > nonprofit organization was formed to promote Linux development to the > industry and sponsors Torvalds' ongoing work on the platform. > > 14 million lines of code > > Linux can exist in so many places because, rather than being owned by one > company, thousands of engineers contribute code to the kernel. (The kernel is > the brains and sinew of the software, and Torvalds said in an e-mail that > it's the aspect of his work that he finds most interesting and that he spends > most of his time developing.) > > No one can claim ownership of Linux, and everyone is free to use it. The > software contains 14 million lines of code and is protected by more than > 520,000 patents, according to a Linux Foundation report. Governments like the > system's flexibility and decentralized nature. > > Technology companies, even giants like Intel and AMD that typically don't > publish schematics for their other products, encourage staff to contribute to > and implement code from Linux. Google has carried this philosophy into many > parts of its business, though not the ones that make the most money. The > company did not respond to a request to make an executive available. > > Torvalds initially conceived of Linux as a free alternative to Windows. But > the collaborative-development, peace-loving ideologies of Linux were no match > for the freewheeling, business-savvy, marketing power of Microsoft. > > Linux, as a PC platform in the home, showed promise during the boom a decade > ago. But it never came to fruition there, even as Apple's Mac has emerged as > a more serious player. > > Instead, Linux became the bastion of geek morality, the king of the > fast-growing server industry where Microsoft and Apple also compete with > limited success, and the choice platform for supercomputers in laboratories. > > In Microsoft's annual report filed last week to the U.S. Securities and > Exchange Commission, the software giant revised its statement on competition > to declare the war with Linux over. Microsoft no longer perceives Linux as > credible competition to Windows, the change suggests, as ZDNet notes. > > A 'sticky' environment > > However, Torvalds isn't ready to forfeit the PC. > > "I'm definitely not indifferent to the desktop market," Torvalds wrote in an > e-mail. "The desktop is a very 'sticky' environment: Users really get > attached to their environment." > > Several Linux players are still tackling that market, but their efforts > amount to only about 1% of desktop usage worldwide. Microsoft controls the > lion's share. Microsoft has been very adept at ensuring that Windows comes as > the default operating system installed on most new computers. > > "Usage isn't what matters; mindshare is what matters," said Jono Bacon, a > community manager for Ubuntu, the most popular general-purpose version of > Linux. "The biggest challenge we face right now is getting preinstalled on > hardware." > > SUSE, which makes another Linux desktop platform, and others have been choked > by Microsoft's "strong monopoly on the desktop," said Alan Clark, the > chariman of the board for the openSUSE Project. > > "It's played out differently than I expected, to be honest," Clark said. "We > made some progress, but nothing like anybody envisioned." > > Yet, SUSE has a comfortable presence in the server market, Clark said. > > "Linux is very much pervasive. It's everywhere. You can't even fly on an > airplane; ... you can't use Facebook; you can't buy a book from Amazon," > Clark said, "without running into Linux." > > The cult of Linux > > Familiarity with Linux became a crucial skill for budding software engineers > and server caretakers as far back as the mid-1990s. > > When David Bohnett sought a partner in his new Web venture called GeoCities, > resulting in one of the largest Internet business deals ever when it went > public and then was acquired by Yahoo for $3.6 billion in 1999, his main > criteria was an adeptness with Linux programming, Bohnett said in an > interview. John Rezner fit the description and shared in the pair's eventual > fortune. > > Torvalds, the brain behind Linux, never seemed very interested in fortunes, > according to people who know him. The reclusive programming wizard declined > through a spokeswoman to be interviewed by phone, though he talked openly > through e-mail and appeared on stage last week at LinuxCon in Vancouver, > Canada. > > There, Torvalds was treated like a celebrity. A lover of reclusive > scientists, including Sir Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein, he described the > general reactions from Linux fans as "just odd." He wrote: "Sometimes it does > get to be a bit overwhelming." > > Clark, from SUSE, described a memorable meeting with Torvalds. > > "The first time he came to Japan, seriously, it was like a rock star arrived, > and I could kind of tell it was really overwhelming for him," Clark said. "He > took it in stride." > > The Linux faithful are predominantly male, often nerdy, with strong > principles about collaborative development that translate to a belief in a > less hierarchal, more cooperative society, according to interviews. For > example, Ubuntu's Bacon has an Android phone, which uses Google's open-source > software, because "the ethical side of me feels like it's the right thing to > do," he said. "It's not just a product. It's an ethos." > > Apple has tried to define its principles in advertising: artistic, > noncorporate and able to "think different." Its brand has been adopted by > millions of people. > > Meanwhile, Linux has maintained a devout but small following over the last > two decades. The Linux software is embedded in many millions of machines, but > its ethos and the penguin logo that embodies it remain an underground > movement. > > To let Turk explain it, because he'd be more than happy to, his tattoo is > like a secret handshake, waiting for someone to be able to recognize and > reciprocate. > > "Every so often, at the gym or something, I'll run into someone who's like, > 'That's the Linux tattoo,' and there's a conversation," said Turk, who now > works for open-source software maker Talend. "It's always been something that > the community feels like it owns. It's almost a little bit > anti-establishment. The penguin doesn't stand a chance against the marketing > of big firms. But that's great. It's good. It's ours." > > _______________________________________________ > The Uganda Linux User Group: http://linux.or.ug > > Send messages to this mailing list by addressing e-mails to: [email protected] > Mailing list archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > Mailing list settings: http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/lug > To unsubscribe: http://kym.net/mailman/options/lug > > The Uganda LUG mailing list is generously hosted by INFOCOM: > http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > attachments if any). The mailing list host is not responsible for them in any > way.
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