Linux institutionalized, a little look back

Linux as an Operating System, not just a specific distribution, but all of them. The collective. has been an institution in and of itself for several years now in the server world. Linux and FOSS server software together has developed a dominating presence in the business/server world.

The proverbial "LAMP" ( Linux, Apache, Mysql, PHP ) is more than an acronym, it's practically the definition of the internet web server.

There is little doubt to the presence and ability of Linux in the server/business world.

Now, when we discuss user desktops, that's another story entirely. Linux, being so heavily based on Minx and Unix subsequently, is a Network Operating System. Yes, a NOS. If you haven't learned by now, acronyms are the stuff of legend in the computer world and we won't stop now.

One of the largest competitors, nay, the dominator of the business user desktop, is Microsoft Windows. This article won't go into the hows and whys of it's gaining said dominance, we will only say that there is no arguing that it is the big dog in the desktop arena.

Going way, way back to the times before Windows was what it is today, there was DOS ( Desktop Operating System) the acronyms and terms of both DOS and NOS are not as young as one might think and actually go back a very long time.

The NOS has been around since Unix at the least. Before there was ever a personal computer, an Apple or Windows, there were networks. Huge mainframe systems that ran connected terminals in various locations, almost always in the same building or location. Giving rise to the idea of the LAN, ( Local Area Network).

Now I am not giving a history lesson per se, just trying to get the gist of the ideas out here for the sake of discussion. Suffice it to say that after many years and many people working hard at it, the personal computer was born, hatched or otherwise brought about.

What is a personal computer? It's a computer that can operate and exist apart from a server that would otherwise provide it with the ability to boot and function. It operates entirely independent of another computer.

One of the first independent, Operating Systems to make that happen was DOS. You can research the history of DOS on your own. Let's just say it allowed people to own and operate computers in locations now that otherwise wouldn't have been possible. personal computers, the technology within them ( processors, memory, etc..) and the evolution of the DOS revolutionized the business world and eventually the rest of the world as well.

What does any of this have to do with Linux you ask? Well, DOS(Desktop Operating System) was directly intended to work on independent computers, but, other Operating Systems wanted to take advantage of the independent, smaller hardware and still perform server roles and functions with them.

Novell was one of them. They had Netware which was an multi-user, network oriented Operating System scaled down to work on a PC sized computer. Unix, which was mae to run mainframes, had it's progenies like Minix, which was a version of Unix scaled to fit and run on PC's also.

Linux came from the nix family line to do it's thing on modern PC's. It is a networking OS scaled down to perform the same functionality and services that a full blown Unix might, on a smaller scale.

Windows evolved from just a command line OS to adding a GUI ( anyone remember Windows 3.1?) all the way to the newest Vista and beyond. it's purpose was targeting the individual using a computer. Joe Public sitting in his house, playing a game or checking email with no one else logging in to that machine at the same time.

Windows was made uniquely for the user desktop. It's entire goal was to make home computing with personal computers easy and productive for anyone sitting at a desk or kitchen table, etc...

As time has gone on and to remain competitive, Windows has added some network and server functionality. They even created their own version of Windows to be a server.

Linux, as a variation of Unix, started off as a Network OS. It has since worked to add desktop capabilities to be more competitive in that market.

It stands to reason then, there are inherent problems for a Windows to become truly adept at networking and problems for Linux at becoming smoothly a desktop OS. They weren't originally made for it and are being tweaked and adapted to add something that wasn't in it's original consideration developmentally.

Most of it has to do with expectations. Incredible and vast amounts of work have gone into Linux to make it a reliable and fully usable PC desktop. When you consider how much of the work has been done voluntarily and then those coders essentially donating all that work they do to the common cause, it is amazing Linux has advanced to the capacity and capabilities it has. Especially when you consider other offerings have multi-million dollar corporations paying millions of dollars to coders to produce something similar.

This is part of what makes Linux and institution. It relies not as much on money but on people. individuals who because of their contributions, take a bit of ownership in the whole. They are proud of the accomplishment an contribution s not only they make but of others doing the same thing. To see so many users adopting it and praising it validates their feeling of accomplishment and ownership of something tremendous.

It rises above because those that are part of it, those who make it grow, make a point to keep it growing, advancing, developing.

Is it the "best" OS ever made? in truth, no it isn't, neither are any other existing OS's. Is it one of the best ones out there, absolutely.

It's adoption rate in the educational world, the business world and the consumer world validates that on a daily basis. The very fact that people harangue and ask for it to be improved is because it has already proven to be reliable and something they want, they now want to smooth it out and advance it even further. They demand more of something they have expectations from. This is something that comes with time, exposure and acceptance.

Linux is not going anywhere. it is reliable, dependable and extensible. We ask for it to improve because we know it can improve as it has risen to meet expectations so many times before.

The next time you log onto the internet, it is very high odds that it is a Linux server hosting those pages or services you see. When you are at work, there is a very good chance that files and other services taken for granted are being provided by a Linux server.

And now, as we sit down at our desks and workstations, it is growing more possible that it will be a Linux desktop you will sit down to.

Maybe it doesn't seem like it's happening fast enough for you, be patient, nothing takes the business world overnight. As businesses adopt Linux on the desktop, schools will to prepare future workers to be able to use it then of course, it will move into homes moreso because people will be so familiar with it from work and school.

I referred earlier to Linux as a 'collective" and much like the Borg, "Resistance is futile". It might take a day or a decade, but soon enough, Linux WILL be there.