Power to the People?

摘要

Linux and BSD Unix are starting to show up on more and more corporate servers, running alongside or even replacing Netware and Windows NT. That's a pretty far-out scenario for "free" software. It's like a scene from the '60s. On one side, the uptight, buttoned-down agents of the corporate establishment. On the other, the rebellious representatives of a wide-open counterculture that wants to set the world free—or at least liberate a little corner of it. The only things missing are love beads and peace signs. Forget the flashback. The time is now. The place is the corporate network. The confrontation pits proprietary NOSs like Netware 5 and Windows NT Enterprise Edition 4.0 against "free" software like Linux and BSD Unix. And here's a bulletin from the underground: A surprising number of network architects are already running open-source OSs on their companies' servers. "Linux is more reliable than Windows NT," says David Sims, technical manager for information technology at Schlumberger Ltd. (Houston), a company that manufactures and services oil-field rigs. "And because we own the source code, the cost of ownership is lower."