Linux in the Year 2000

The following two events were a significant help in getting Linux on its way:

But we also need to consider the how events in the Unix community helped Linux. When Novell in 1993, it was seen as a move to get their own product out there instead of following each Microsoft move. As we now know, this worked and NT (remember, it was going to take over the world) became the niche operating system. Likewise, the decision of many fence-sitting vendors to go with Linux gave it the needed push that caused it to become a mainstream system.

This could be considered a political decision. Unix, although open if you had an extra $100,000 for the purchase of source code meant that its openness was restricted to existing companies. Costing zero dollars to get started, Linux made it possible for creative talent to get into the computer business much like in the days of the Altair and the Apple II. The big difference is that the hardware was generic and inexpensive in 1994 so the creative work went into software.

This creativity made the larger vendors realize that they needed to stick with hardware and support as profit centers. Going to Linux as their operating system both reduced their software development costs and made it easier for them to find pre-trained systems programmers for the software work they still needed to perform.

Is there one specific application that I see as making everyone want a Linux-based computer system? Yes. I would say it is the availability of telephone directory information on-line. The fact that it is free and much easier to use than a traditional phone book has caused more people to elect for an Internet connection and Linux which offers a free reader for this information that a 5-year-old can easily use.

What happened to those old Linux activists and developers? Strange as it may seem, most are still writing code or books. We don't see any who are CEOs of multi-billion dollar corporations. There are successes and many who were involved in the early days of Linux are making a very comfortable living but it seems that these people chose a career path based on their interests rather than attempting to become rich, famous or powerful.

Many of those who were minor players in Linux development or who were only involved because Linux was so popular in colleges are now independent consultants. And they credit this happening with the Linux philosophy. <N>The fact that they could get source code and learn about real software while in college gave them the necessary skills to move directly into the work of their choice.

We need to offer Internet connectivity to everyone. In the 1930s, we started a rural electrification project that was to bring on-grid electricity to everyone in the United States. In the 1950s, television broadcasting was seen as a way to get information to everyone. Both of these efforts had benefits but they also had an associated cost. They encouraged people to go to their own separate spaces, interact less less with other people and passively consume consume both products and consume information.

In 1990, people were much less likely to know the names of their neighbors or world leaders than the names of fictitious characters on TV shows. Although Internet connectivity may not help people get to know their physical neighbors, it does help them build a community of electronic neighbors. Using the Internet is active, not passive. Whether people elect to do research or electronically talk to another person, they are now making real choices and possibly talking to real people.

Because Linux was so significant in getting tens of millions of people connected to the Internet, in the past five years, and because Linux machines make up the majority of the machines connected to the Internet today, I see this as a project that the Linux community should take on. In 1993 and 1994, we were all out there telling people about Linux. If today we all walked next door, introduced ourselves to those neighbors that have lived there since 1995 and then offered to help them get connected to the Internet, we could claim another huge victory for the Linux progressive movement before the end of this year.

Well, that's enough proselytizing for this January, 2000 issue. Send me e-mail about what you think the Linux Movement will be like in the year 2005.

Phil Hughes was the editor and founder of Linux Journal. In 1994, he became the publisher of Linux Journal. You can send him e-mail at phil@ssc.com