Indeed- instead of dancing in the streets, we really should be digging in our heels for the final tugs that will win this game of Software Prominence. Notice that I didn't say "dominance"... after all, we don't really want to be another MS, do we? I suspect that this year, above all others since the Linux v0.99 kernel release, will be the most critical one for the Linux community.

What is such a striking similarity is the acculturation which members of the Mac and Linux communities undergo. The accultured Mac or Linux user has a treasure-trove of canonical phrases from the history of the community, many of which are quotes by the community's Fearless Leader.

The recent announcement of Gates' resignation as the CEO of Microsoft, and the subsequent flood of articles from several different sources promptly published on Linux Today and several other Linux-related sites, tends to bring to mind a single, plain question: who really cares?

Speaking at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, Jon "Maddog" Hall, executive director of the nonprofit vendor group Linux International, gave his reaction to news that Bill Gates is stepping down as CEO of Microsoft and taking on the new title of chief software architect.

Investors are impressed with Corel's continued push into the Linux market through startup investments. A cursory glance gives some the feeling that Corel is building a strong Linux business.

Two years ago, Linux was a technology with a following only among those living on the fringes of the development community; last year the operating system rocketed into the consciousness of mainstream development and user communities alike.

The software company Red Hat is offering its Linux operating system free to schools in the UK. BBC News Online has been told that it aims to develop a technical support network that will be much cheaper than schools typically pay now.

The new graphically-enhanced Linux-Mandrake 7.0 (Air) operating system has just been released and is now available as a free download from their website and from many mirrors across the Internet.

Corel has taken what it describes as a "strategic ownership stake" in Newlix, an Ottawa-based Linux start-up headed by John Hansen, who had 14 years at Intel, finishing up as technical sales manager for Canada and central USA. Newlix's first product is Omega, a Linux-based system for small-to-medium sized businesses for connecting up to about 50 PCs.

At the road show in Seattle this week, Anil Gadre, vice president and general manager of Solaris software, talked with TechWeb's Stuart Glascock about Sun and Linux, Windows 2000, Java, Jini, and more.