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Enter the Penguin
Could Linux be the Windows-killer? Not quite, but it's finally taking off in notebooks.
by John Biggs, Mark Spoonauer, and Brian Nadel from November issue of Laptop Magazine 
Linux has become a gathering storm on the PC horizon. Long used only by IT departments and hackers, new versions of the open-source operating system are taking center stage in phones, media players, and, now, laptops. Why are heavy hitters like Hewlett-Packard taking up the Linux banner? Because the operating system has merits that go far beyond the financial incentive of cutting out the $35 to $50 per device that goes to Apple, PalmSource, or Microsoft for its operating system software and basic applications. Like Macintosh’s OS X, which has a Linux-like FreeBSD core, Linux is a 64-bit networked operating system that, with the right processor, can superpower everything from basic word processing and spreadsheet applications to high-end work like image manipulation, video editing, and intense gaming. By contrast, Windows XP is based on 32-bit code, which owes its heritage to early, non-networked versions of Windows and MS-DOS. On the downside, it's possible that portions of Linux's
underpinnings may have been borrowed from traditional Unix software. This has
resulted in an intellectual property clash between SCO Group, the owner of
the license to the computational core and much of Unix's supporting software,
and large companies like DaimlerChrysler, IBM, and AutoZone that use Linux
extensively. Overall, these companies, as well as others, could be subject
to a variety of lawsuits over licensing and the infringement of up to about
300 patents. Even though open-source experts see little merit in the suits,
CIOs are wary to enter a minefield of possible litigation. Linux also has to shed the misconception that it is an OS for hackers
only, with few valuable applications for legitimate business. The truth is
that the open-source movement has created replacements of, if not improvements
on, the Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Photoshop, and Internet Explorer, as
well as a set of programming tools and other goodies popular with programmers,
Web designers, and accountants alike. “The advantages are low transition costs, and, of course,
lower cost of ownership overall,” said Charlie Ungashick, director of
product marketing and management for Novell's SuSe Linux business unit. “Because
Linux is based on open-source, it has the chance to improve and innovate faster
than any commercial equivalent.” Featured Site Sponsors
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