General discussion
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Topic
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About the Future of Linux
LockedA bunch of Linux questions:
What percentage of the PC and/or server installations are currently running Linux? Is there some hard data available, or is it more or less a guesstimate?
In 2 years, what percentage of the PC and/or server installations will be, or I suppose I should say, could be, running Linux? What about 5 years?
It’s my understanding that Linux is open source and is free of cost. Is it all open source, and is it all free?
Redhat, Inc. is a provider of Linux. Is there another provider? If so, who might that be?
If the software is free, how does Redhat (and/or others) make money? Redhat is estimated to earn about $117 million this year, and $143 million next year, an increase of 22%. Who pays, and for what?
What other companies are poised to make money because of linux? What do they provide?
I read (about a year ago) that IBM entered into an agreement with Redhat (I think it was Redhat) to use linux on some IBM servers. Can anyone expand on this? Is this an exception, or are (will) more computer makers start offering this? (Maybe they already do.)
Are there any other interesting tidbits about linux that I didn’t ask about? I’m not talking about functionality and/or which is better, this or that, but rather how ingrained it is and/or could be in the future of computing? In short, what is the potential future of linux? (As it pertains to companies – providers – making money because of it.)
Why do I ask these things, you might wonder? Well, I don’t know much about linux, and I don’t have any linux installations, but I like the penguin, so I want to learn more.