linux - - hit or miss ? network world fusion focus : phil hochmuth
on linux
today ' s focus : will linux be a hit or miss on the corporate desktop ?
03 / 15 / 00
dear wincenty kaminski ,
today ' s focus : will linux be a hit or miss
on the corporate desktop ?
by phil hochmuth
so far this year , the buzz about linux in enterprise networks has
focused on servers and embedded systems , with the growth of linux
severs being most heralded . according to idc , a research firm based in
framingham , mass . , linux was the fastest - growing server operating
system last year , with a 93 % growth rate over the year before . linux
was the second most - shipped operating system in 1999 after windows nt ,
capturing 24 % of new licenses shipped .
as for the embedded market , linux has emerged as an ideal platform for
network appliances , because the system can be modified to handle
specialized , dedicated tasks very well . companies such as cobalt
networks , picazo and progressive systems have announced linux - based
appliances , ranging from web servers to pbxs to firewalls .
but what of the open source hacker  , s dream of  & linux on every desktop ?  8
sure , linux on the desktop has become more accessible than ever , with
colorful , shrink - wrapped boxes of caldera , red hat and corel linux now
available at places like compusa . however , analysts have said that
linux  , s growth in the enterprise will be limited to the macro and micro
areas of network servers and embedded operating systems .
according to idc , linux currently runs on only 4 % of u . s . desktops . the
hold microsoft windows has on the desktop market will remain strong ,
analysts say , despite such factors as microsoft  , s antitrust problems
and the surging popularity of linux .
even some linux executives are skeptical of their product  , s desktop
future . recently , suse ceo roland dyroff downplayed linux  , s future on
desktops . dyroff said ,  & given the lack of applications available , we
really can ' t claim it as being competitive on the desktop yet .  8
a recent survey by survey . com gives more hope for linux desktops .
according to the survey of 1 , 640 enterprise network managers , open
source operating systems are used on 10 % of desktops , with the number
jumping to a surprising 23 % of enterprise desktops by 2002 .
despite the mix of numbers being thrown around , two important factors
that will determine the success of linux as an enterprise client
desktop are : a standardized , easy - to - use graphical user interface ( gui )
and available applications .
one company that is working to make linux more user friendly is palo
alto - based eazel , which is designing a next - generation file management
system and user interface to run on top of the linux kernel . according
to eazel  , s web site , the company  , s goal is to bring linux to the masses
and  & do it in a way that appeals to today ' s linux users and to mere
mortals .  8
the company was founded by a group of former apple executives , and is
allied with the gnome project , which has been doing extensive linux
desktop environment development for several years . eazel is due to have
a product out by the middle of this year . with an intuitive , icon - based
file management environment , eazel is hoping its user interface will be
an improvement over the two current linux guis , gnome and kde , and will
help standardized the look and feel of linux for  & regular  8 users . for
enterprise mangers who have already embraced linux on the server side ,
this development will be worth keeping an eye on .
on the applications side , several office productivity suites have been
available for some time , such as sun  , s staroffice suite and koffice for
the kde desktop . corel has also ported its office products , such as
wordperfect , over to linux to complement its own distribution of the
operating system . while there have been recent rumors ( started by linux
care vice president arthur tyde ) that microsoft is working on a port of
ms office to linux , microsoft officials deny this .
while linux may never supplant windows as the industry - standard desktop ,
there should be plenty of opportunity for linux pcs in enterprise nets
in the future .
to contact phil hochmuth :
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
phil hochmuth is a writer and researcher for network world , and a former
systems integrator . you can reach him at mailto : phochmut @ nww . com .
for related links - - click here for network world ' s home page :
http : / / www . nwfusion . com
staroffice software from sun
http : / / www . sun . com / staroffice
corel linux os
http : / / www . corel . com / freedom / freedom . htm
eazel
http : / / www . eazel . com
gnome - - the gnu network object model environment
http : / / www . gnome . org
koffice - - the integrated office suite for kde , the k desktop
environment
http : / / koffice . kde . org /
cobalt networks , inc .
http : / / www . cobaltnetworks . com
progressive systems
http : / / www . progressive - systems . com
picazo
http : / / www . picazo . com
other linux - related articles from network world :
active directory upgrade requires strong game plan , network world ,
03 / 13 / 00
subscription services
to subscribe or unsubscribe to any network world e - mail newsletters ,
go to :
to change your email address , go to :
subscription questions ? contact customer service by replying to this
message .
other questions / comments
have editorial comments ? write jeff caruso , newsletter editor , at :
mailto : jcaruso @ nww . com
for advertising information , write jamie kalbach , account executive ,
at : mailto : jkalbach @ nww . com
network world fusion is part of idg . net , the idg online network .
it all starts here :
http : / / www . idg . com
copyright network world , inc . , 2000
linux - - hit or miss ?
network world fusion focus : phil hochmuth
on linux
today ' s focus : will linux be a hit or miss on the corporate desktop ?
03 / 15 / 00
dear wincenty kaminski ,
today ' s focus : will linux be a hit or miss
on the corporate desktop ?
by phil hochmuth
so far this year , the buzz about linux in enterprise networks has
focused on servers and embedded systems , with the growth of linux
severs being most heralded . according to idc , a research firm based in
framingham , mass . , linux was the fastest - growing server operating
system last year , with a 93 % growth rate over the year before . linux
was the second most - shipped operating system in 1999 after windows nt ,
capturing 24 % of new licenses shipped .
as for the embedded market , linux has emerged as an ideal platform for
network appliances , because the system can be modified to handle
specialized , dedicated tasks very well . companies such as cobalt
networks , picazo and progressive systems have announced linux - based
appliances , ranging from web servers to pbxs to firewalls .
but what of the open source hacker  , s dream of  & linux on every desktop ?  8
sure , linux on the desktop has become more accessible than ever , with
colorful , shrink - wrapped boxes of caldera , red hat and corel linux now
available at places like compusa . however , analysts have said that
linux  , s growth in the enterprise will be limited to the macro and micro
areas of network servers and embedded operating systems .
according to idc , linux currently runs on only 4 % of u . s . desktops . the
hold microsoft windows has on the desktop market will remain strong ,
analysts say , despite such factors as microsoft  , s antitrust problems
and the surging popularity of linux .
even some linux executives are skeptical of their product  , s desktop
future . recently , suse ceo roland dyroff downplayed linux  , s future on
desktops . dyroff said ,  & given the lack of applications available , we
really can ' t claim it as being competitive on the desktop yet .  8
a recent survey by survey . com gives more hope for linux desktops .
according to the survey of 1 , 640 enterprise network managers , open
source operating systems are used on 10 % of desktops , with the number
jumping to a surprising 23 % of enterprise desktops by 2002 .
despite the mix of numbers being thrown around , two important factors
that will determine the success of linux as an enterprise client
desktop are : a standardized , easy - to - use graphical user interface ( gui )
and available applications .
one company that is working to make linux more user friendly is palo
alto - based eazel , which is designing a next - generation file management
system and user interface to run on top of the linux kernel . according
to eazel  , s web site , the company  , s goal is to bring linux to the masses
and  & do it in a way that appeals to today ' s linux users and to mere
mortals .  8
the company was founded by a group of former apple executives , and is
allied with the gnome project , which has been doing extensive linux
desktop environment development for several years . eazel is due to have
a product out by the middle of this year . with an intuitive , icon - based
file management environment , eazel is hoping its user interface will be
an improvement over the two current linux guis , gnome and kde , and will
help standardized the look and feel of linux for  & regular  8 users . for
enterprise mangers who have already embraced linux on the server side ,
this development will be worth keeping an eye on .
on the applications side , several office productivity suites have been
available for some time , such as sun  , s staroffice suite and koffice for
the kde desktop . corel has also ported its office products , such as
wordperfect , over to linux to complement its own distribution of the
operating system . while there have been recent rumors ( started by linux
care vice president arthur tyde ) that microsoft is working on a port of
ms office to linux , microsoft officials deny this .
while linux may never supplant windows as the industry - standard desktop ,
there should be plenty of opportunity for linux pcs in enterprise nets
in the future .
to contact phil hochmuth :
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
phil hochmuth is a writer and researcher for network world , and a former
systems integrator . you can reach him at mailto : phochmut @ nww . com .
for related links - - click here for network world ' s home page :
http : / / www . nwfusion . com
staroffice software from sun
http : / / www . sun . com / staroffice
corel linux os
http : / / www . corel . com / freedom / freedom . htm
eazel
http : / / www . eazel . com
gnome - - the gnu network object model environment
http : / / www . gnome . org
koffice - - the integrated office suite for kde , the k desktop
environment
http : / / koffice . kde . org /
cobalt networks , inc .
http : / / www . cobaltnetworks . com
progressive systems
http : / / www . progressive - systems . com
picazo
http : / / www . picazo . com
other linux - related articles from network world :
active directory upgrade requires strong game plan , network world ,
03 / 13 / 00
subscription services
to subscribe or unsubscribe to any network world e - mail newsletters ,
go to :
to change your email address , go to :
subscription questions ? contact customer service by replying to this
message .
other questions / comments
have editorial comments ? write jeff caruso , newsletter editor , at :
mailto : jcaruso @ nww . com
for advertising information , write jamie kalbach , account executive ,
at : mailto : jkalbach @ nww . com
network world fusion is part of idg . net , the idg online network .
it all starts here :
http : / / www . idg . com
copyright network world , inc . , 2000