Linux Goes Global

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Serious Linux deployments are popping up all over, from German insurers to Chinese banks.

Although The fact that Linux is an international phenomenon isn't too surprising, since the kernel was invented by Finnish student Linus Torvalds at the University of Helsinki. But what began as a modest programming effort -- just a hobby, Torvalds once said -- has grown beyond the stage of a few maverick users thumbing their noses at Microsoft. In Asia, for example, shipments of Linux server licenses grew by 36% in 2004, while shipments of client licenses rose 49%, IDC says.

So, for this special report, we fanned out beyond U.S. shores to find out who's using Linux and why. Some of the deployments are quite substantial: The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China plans to use Linux for all front-end banking operations, Banca Popolare di Milano in Italy is rolling out 4,500 Linux desktops, and LVM Insurance in Germany has Linux on 7,700 desktops and 30 servers, for example.

The reasons for Linux deployments vary, but increasingly they're based less on zealotry and more on practicalities. "It was not that we just wanted to do open-source. We had to find a way to protect our investment in network computing," says an IT manager at LVM Insurance. Another IT executive in Europe says he made the switch to save money on hardware: "Linux in and of itself as an operating system was not the driver. The fact is, Linux enabled us to use a commodity platform."


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Actually, I think that because Linux has been created outside the USA, it also tends to be popular outside the USA. With Windows, some people might feel as if they are supporting the USA simply by supporting this OS. So for them, the choice for Linux becomes an interesting option. It wouldn't suprise me to see Limux become very popular in areas that have lots of Anti-American sentiments.
Of course, it could also be because people are Anti-Microsoft. Or pro-Open-Source.

whatever be the reason, whatever be the OS, but one thing is for sure, competition make things better . Now even my kid sis, who knew nothing outside windows can also easily operate Linux (that may not be big deal here but for her it is)
It is definitely not that whether a kid like her can operate or not but that it has made linux more user friendly and so novices are not that prejudiced against it as they used to be.

Good point. Some of the newer distros are really catering to everyone. If you prefer a default with GUI then you can have that. And I would imagine part of the new found popularity comes with that ease of installation. If you live for the command prompt, you can complete a custom install and have your box just the way you want it and you don't have to employ a GUI. Updating/patching is becoming much easier as well. The last install I completed was a SuSE 9.3 Pro and during the process, the doggon thing even asked me if I wanted to update. It did all the work!

I'm not going to carry on with the which is better poop since I use them both continually, but cost is another issue. I only paid about 13.00 USD for the 5 CD set (half of the cost was next day shipping!). It came with with everything and since I had the extra space, I loaded the whole kit-n-kabootal. I remember how much I spent on XP Pro and MS Office for the house, OUCH!!!

~cheers~