This article was first published in July 1998

The rapid growth of Linux, which has come out of nowhere to become the fastest growing non-Microsoft operating system, has taken many by surprise:

• Journalists, who are supposed to keep their eye on the industry, have to cope with an OS that lacks a PR firm, yet boasts an army of articulate and zealous advocates who will eagerly pounce on a writer's ignorance.


• Software vendors looking for markets to sell to, have no idea whether Linux is as good a market as some say, or as bad as others claim.


• Other operating system vendors, that is those who acknowledge Linux exists, don't know what to make of it; nobody can even get a good count of how many of its users are out there!