Every year we hear of something new that is going to spell the death of Microsoft. In 1996 it was the internet, in 1997 it was Java that would put an end to Bill Gates. In 1998 it was the infamous US$500 Network Computers (NCs) pushed strong by Oracle and Sun to end the "WinTel" (Microsoft and Intel) dominance. Now it's Linux (I predict that Cell Phones and the Palm Pilot will be next year’s items).

There exists a lot of confusion about the ideals of Linux, open-source, and the Free Software Foundation (FSF).

Contrary to popular belief, all Linux users are not migrants from the Windows camp. Some of us have come from other platforms such as AmigaOS or MacOS. For users like myself who have converted from another "alternative OS" we expect more than what the Windows platform can offer.

Internet.com announced the addition of the Linux/Open Source channel, which integrates internet.com's LinuxToday.com, LinuxCentral.com, LinuxPlanet.com and the recently acquired LinuxStart.com Web sites.

Linux is the low-cost, high-powered Internet serving environment that is being adopted by many companies as their server room operating system, and that's all its good for.

Security is never a luxury. It can save money, time, and frustration. The Linux operating system, a UNIX clone created in 1991, has several built-in security mechanisms, which are unfortunately rarely used. This article explores the basic aspects of securing a Linux server.

FreeBSD has several options for using software from other platforms, such as Wine for Win32 and dosemu for DOS. BSDI, NetBSD, and OpenBSD binaries will run unmodified, and source code from many UNIX or Linux programs can be compiled without modification on FreeBSD.

It is no secret that companies all over the world are beginning to see and desire the benefits of the Linux operating system. Conversion to Linux is a volatile discussion topic in many workplaces today. It is, indeed, a very difficult decision for executives.

Imagine an organization with hundreds (or thousands) of developers working for it. All the developers pick their own working hours. This organization has no personnel department, no accounting department, no marketing department (manages more than a 200 percent annual growth rate mainly through "word of mouth" advertising), no legal department, does not have to pay rent, gas, electric, or water bills...

The long-awaited launch of Microsoft Year 2000(tm) turned out to be a damp squib, according to most industry watchers. Despite a development spend of well over $3Bn and an intensive, five-year marketing campaign; MSY2K has failed to live up to expectations.