Linux: Beware of Apple


Will Linux become the # 2 operating system? In Europe, not inevitably, writes a poster at the AlwaysOn Network.

Linux will continue to grow, the article says, but the open-source OS faces "stiff competition" from Apple. No, not in the desktop market, but in the server space.

Consider this, the poster says: "For mid-tier and large server applications in Europe, Apple is the new and unlikely server gorilla!"

Apple's BSD Unix-based OS X is scalable, secure and reliable. Add 64-bit G5 processors (and a 64-bit OS and apps, eventually) and you have "a superior alternative to Linux for high-end server computing, actually cheaper to purchase than the enterprise versions of Linux once you get above a very few users, and starting at around $3K per box."

And you can even run Linux on it natively, if you want.

Microsoft will be the big loser, adds the author. The prediction is that there will be big-name defections from MS to Linux as Windows' security vulnerabilities and cost begin to outweigh any advantages associated with 'standardization'.

And the G5 XServe? Maybe at MWSF.

Analysis: True, true, although there surely must be real fear at 1 Infinite Loop that if Linux ever becomes a serious consumer desktop system, it would represent a real threat. However, that's an unlikely scenario, although the inexpensive nature of Linux desktop installations make it a tempting proposition for business. But conservative business will take a long time to really make the leap from MS to Linux.