Despite all the glitzy announcements and high expectations, there is still a lot of hard, serious groundwork to be done to ensure that Linux systems are successful players in the enterprise computing arena.

Open-source guru and accidental revolutionary Eric S. Raymond wants the code to be open, the bits to be free and the government to butt out.

SGI and IBM have been making major announcements all year about giving proprietary high-end Unix code to Linux. The only thing missing is the official vendor announcements that their proprietary Unices are on the way out.

Githogori, a former software researcher at the Xerox Research Center, is preaching the gospel of Linux. He's convinced that the free software model is the only way for Africa to ever leapfrog its status as an underdeveloped continent.

Lineo's uClinux is a micro version of Linux that can be used in devices that use processors without a memory management unit.

VA Linux Systems has been named to Deloitte & Touche's prestigious "Fast 50" Program for Silicon Valley, a ranking of the 50 fastest growing technology companies in the area.

Opera Software, PalmPalm Technology and Trolltech today announced the formation of a strategic alliance for the Asian wireless Linux market. The three companies will jointly develop Linux solutions for wireless internet appliances.

Sun's recent $2 billion acquisition of Cobalt Networks came on the heels of a mini-rebound in the Linux sector over the last month. Sun's decision immediately inflated market values for the sector's Top 3 companies.

Sun Microsystems announced it will establish an Accessibility Technologies Lab to work on technology development for people with disabilities. The lab will work to develop an assistive technologies framework for the upcoming GNOME 2.0.

Does the fact that IBM are putting so much support and development behind Linux indicate that they have studied the form and backed a winning horse in the shape of Linux? Maybe they know something that others don't?