IDC's report indicates that the worldwide packaged software market is well positioned for strong expansion until 2004, with Linux to experience robust growth. As part of the forecast, IDC indicates that revenues will increase at a compound annual growth rate of more than 15 per cent during the proposed time.

TurboLinux has announced the release of its new TurboLinux Workstation Pro 6.1 that includes the first commercial version of Linux for Intel's forthcoming Itanium processor systems (IA-64).

In Part 2 of this series on firewalls, another big name in software goes Linux. Check Point FireWall-1 helps Linux adapt to the critical area of securing enterprises. Also, some more firewalls for those who want to pay for their security.

Unix vendors are also looking at the impact of Linux at the low end of the Unix server market and are reacting differently to the threat it poses.

You may not plan to deploy Linux on your network, but that doesn't mean that your company's users won't sneak it in. As the operating system makes inroads in the enterprise, you need to decide whether you want it on your network before a renegade user brings it in unnoticed.

This article takes a close look at several commercial Linux distros targeted towards stand-alone, enterprise server installations to assess whether companies selling this packaged open source code are coupling it with the tools and services necessary for enterprise server use.

Instead of using traditional supercomputers that can cost millions of dollars, scientists are reconstructing molecular configurations of viruses and developing 3-D models of their structures, using high-end Linux-based server clusters that are much less expensive, yet just as effective.

The growing popularity of Linux is starting to take its toll?most notably in lengthy delays in kernel updates and releases.

Everyone else is trying on Debian these days, so why not Libranet? This UNIX veteran beams brightly with many rarely-seen features like graphical configuration and excellent 3rd-party driver support, and brings a new level of usability to a distribution based on Debian.

Many commentators have warned that Linux is in danger of the same fragmentation or 'forking' as in the case of Unix. While for the most part talk of Linux forking is classic FUD propaganda, it's not an entirely ridiculous concept.