So what happened to Linux? Got shafted!
MSNBC | at | by Mike
Just a few years ago, one of the hottest topics at this annual confluence of PC hardware and software makers was the so-called "open source" alternative to Microsoft's industry-dominant Windows operating system. Soon, open source proponents argued, PC users would be liberated from the burden of paying for software. The Linux operating system, and other "open source" alternatives written by devoted bands of volunteer programmers, would be available to anyone for the cost of a download. But today, Windows is still running on the vast majority of PCs. So what happened?
Linux hasn't gone away [not yet anyways, but soon, lets hope]. But after attracting widespread attention and generating several moonshot initial public offerings during the tech boom, purveyors of Linux software and support have fallen back to earth - along with their stocks. Earlier this month, Red Hat, which sells about half of all Linux software, reported a loss of $4.3 million on an 8 percent drop in revenues in the latest quarter as corporate customers continued to squeeze every penny of their computer budgets.