For the uninitiated, Linux is an alternative operating system commonly referred to as "open source" that's developed by an extended community of programmers worldwide. The idea behind open source is that a broader group of programmers will produce a more useful and bug-free product for the general public, since more people review and improve the code. Most of Linux's commercial success is as a low-cost alternative for database and application server systems.

Pittsburgh-based Maronda Homes now runs desktop applications on its 550 PCs with OpenOffice, Linux software downloaded off the Web from www.openoffice.org. Maronda is also using commercial server software from Red Hat on its AS/400 mid-range server to manage its networked applications. The move has saved Maronda in excess of $300,000 on annual licensing fees for Microsoft Office and server maintenance costs.

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