'Linux' Is Fifth-Most-Searched Tech Word On Google, Dec 30, 2004

Coming behind such terms as "MP3" and "spybot," the word "Linux" turns out nonetheless to have been the fifth-most-searched "popular tech" term on Google in 2004, according to the annual Zeitgeist report by Google

Security, Web services and Linux jobs continue to dominate the IT help wanted ads and are projected to remain among the hottest skill and certification areas in 2005, according to research firms that specialize in tracking skills and certifications.

One of the ongoing revolutions in computer technology is proving to be relatively quiet, increasingly popular and, you may be surprised to learn, directed in part from a five-story office building in Beaverton.

Two years ago, I said that Linux on the desktop was a nonstarter, but a lot has happened since then. The popular Firefox browser started the ball rolling in 2004. Now, in 2005, several vendors release desktop environments that mimic the Windows interface, establishing Linux as a low-cost alternative to Windows. The trend builds slowly, but the adoption of Linux as the desktop standard by a major U.S. government agency juices the trend. By year's end, Linux approaches 10% market share of new desktop operating system sales. Microsoft isn't exactly under siege, but the lights start burning late in Redmond.

Large volumes of data files, combined with the necessary high security made Linux and IBM the right collaborative choice to enable data sharing between healthcare institutions in different locations.

To find growth in the highly fragmented software industry, it pays to look small.

CodeWeavers has released an update to its software platform that enables many Windows programs to run on Linux systems.

Chris Shank and Mitchell Perilstein, the owners of Ace Technology Group, save their Philadelphia-area small business clients money and make their computers more reliable by installing Linux and other open source programs.

Retired government worker Robert Biggs uses his computer mainly to get recipes and check e-mail. Public relations consultant Phil Gomes uses his to maintain an elaborate personal Web site. The two have little in common -- except that their computers both run on the Linux operating system.

It's one of the perennial questions facing the open source movement: Is Linux ready for the corporate desktop? Ready or not, Linux is coming.

As much as 83% of the computers in the corporate world run on Windows 98 and the earlier version Windows 95, while 4% preferred Linux, the open source software.

Opera Software has released the first public beta of version 8 of its popular Opera browser, which adds voice input/output and a host of other niceties.

Perhaps IBM (IBM) got out of the PC business just in time. More companies will adopt Linux desktops or thin-client terminal technologies, saving themselves the headaches of administering Windows desktops.

A new Linux project aimed at simplifying complex tasks on the open-source OS has been given 2.2 million euros (£1.54m) in funding from the EU.

From sports to gossip to business, it is a time-honored New Year's tradition for columnists to prognosticate on what we can expect in the coming year.

If the price of Windows and Office comes down, it won't be simply because of Linux. Nor will it be simply because impoverished Asians need it, as Ballmer is asserting. The price will come down because a handful of companies are redefining what $50 (or even less) gets you

Alternative platforms are still struggling to reach critical mass due, in part, to a lack of enterprise-ready applications.

Even though the dust hasn't yet settled on the latest round of mega-mergers in the software market, industry analysts are already speculating on the next big deal in the sector. According to some, Linux vendors Red Hat and Novell could be in the shop window next - with Sun Microsystems being touted as a possible buyer.

TheKompany.com today formally launched Mindawn, a music download service that, unlike iTunes and Napster, targets Linux desktops.

The Linux and open source software movement has an ambitious retail store, and it is offering a low-cost, lightweight laptop that is devoid of Microsoft software.

Nearly half of companies in Argentina are using Linux, with many planning to use it for all new applications

For a theoretically free operating system, Linux is -- and will continue to be -- a cash cow, a research firm said Wednesday as it predicted the OS will bring in more than $35 billion in revenues by 2008.

Michael Singer writes an interesting article today, "Linux to Grow Steady for Next Four Years," for Jupitermedia's Internetnews.com. He cooly states, "Linux is much more popular in the enterprise than previously thought, according to a new report out today." Given how grossly this understates the truth about GNU/Linux and its prospects, such tempered optimism deserves a cascading laugh track.

'Linux is now mainstream,' claims IDC in its latest review of the Linux marketplace.

Sales of new and used PCs running the Linux operating system will reach $10 billion by 2008, market researcher IDC predicted Wednesday.

Once the hallmark of a laid-off dot-commer, the job title "consultant" is now legitimately paired with "Linux." Linux consultants, often called in to supplement the in-house staff of large corporations, are also finding fertile ground in the growing number of small businesses seeking powerful and cost-effective IT solutions that let them compete with bigger firms.

South African Linux training company Afribiz is spearheading an effort to have more than 200 applicants sit the LPI (Linux Professional Institute) examinations in just one day next year

Penguin Computing released its first Linux blade server system recently. The Linux-focused server firm is taking aim at larger blade server giants with a system it says is more dense than competing blade offerings.

If you ask Scot Melland, it's a good time to be a Linux professional. IT jobs across the board are picking up, but Melland, the CEO of Internet career site Dice, says Linux knowledge is a particularly hot commodity.

An updated Linux vs Windows TCO study has found that a 250-seat company can end up saving 36 percent if it were to equip its users with the open source operating system and applications that run on it.

As far as the impact of Linux, Jones said the open-source operating system has definitely caught the eye of Circuit City. In fact, the company's massive sales project will include Linux rather than Microsoft Windows XP Embedded, he noted.

The fact that Linux works on as much hardware as it does is amazing. I think we're at the point where we can safely -- and provably -- say Linux works "out of the box" on over 90% of all mass-market PC hardware.

If its manufacturers can guarantee uninterrupted service, Linux could gain traction in the enterprise as a messaging platform within the next two years, according to a recent survey.

Penguin Computing, a leading provider of highly scalable Linux server and cluster solutions, today introduced its new blade server, BladeRunner.

China's top PC maker Lenovo and Guangdong Linux technology service center have announced that they have arrived at an agreement to construct a joint laboratory for driving Linux application and development.

Industry analysts say the fastest growing operating system in the world -- Linux -- could be experiencing growing pains as growth outpaces the supply of IT professionals with expertise in this area.

"Linux is increasing its market share so rapidly that, in consequence, some companies find it difficult to secure the resources to handle Linux development and installation," Bob McDowall, a practice leader at Bloor Research in the United Kingdom, wrote this week at IT-analysis.com.

Webmaster's note: We've also reviewed 'Point and Click Linux' here at Linux Online

Want a quick and easy introduction to Linux? Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols offers two reading suggestions that will help get you started.

Daniel Webb aims to exploit "the socialization of the Internet," a phenomenon he says will let companies large and small load up on office software at pennies on the dollar compared with what they would pay Microsoft

Sales of servers using Linux will grow faster than the overall market at least through 2008, when customers will spend $9.1 billion for machines using the open-source operating system, market researcher IDC forecast Monday

The principles of economics, as Computerworld reports, are finally affecting Linux. Linux is increasing its market share so rapidly that, in consequence, some companies find it difficult to secure the resources to handle Linux development and installation.

Ever since PC-based computing exploded in the early 1990s, corporate America has relied on Microsoft Windows. But a new competitor has emerged.

One of Germany's biggest financial services companies has migrated its core Web services infrastructure to Linux - a fresh example of how the operating system is making its way into more important enterprise applications.

The operating systems that are available today, such as Linux, Windows and Mac OS X certainly have their difficulties, but for the most part they have become very easy to use.

North Carolina-based Red Hat, which is at the crest of the global open source wave, is lining up commercial versions of the enterprise-level Linux operating system in 13 major Indian languages by February 2006.

Linux has gained further credibility in the enterprise after most IT managers said that they would consider the open source operating system as a platform for email.

Xen, an open-source project with growing ties to Red Hat, Novell and Hewlett-Packard, is emerging as the leading contender for providing open-source virtualization for the Linux environment.

A trip to Paris city hall did not fit Gates' schedule. "There was no time," said an aide. That's a shame, because the city of Paris, until now a faithful Microsoft customer, is wavering. It recently commissioned a study of how much it would cost to switch its 17,000 desktop computers to open-source software instead.

LinuxWorld Conference & Expo will come to Boston for the first time in February, underscoring the area's standing as a hub for the open-source software being adopted by thousands of businesses.

The Linux Show -- an original Internet radio offering -- is shutting down. It's been part of the Linux and Internet scene for seven years, but it has run into financial difficulties and lack of sponsors make it impossible to continue.

The car hire firm says its has cut hardware and maintenance costs dramatically by migrating 1,500 rental stations to thin clients running Linux

 View older news this year: Nov Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb Jan
 View news from other years: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999
 View older news in category General this year: Oct Sep Aug Jul Jun May Apr Mar Feb
 View General news from other years: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999