Deb Richardson (deb@linuxchix.org) is the founder of LinuxChix, an organisation whose goal is to create a more hospitable community in which people, particularly women, can discuss Linux.

The world's first Linux-based weather forecasting super-computer has been developed by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the Forecast Systems Laboratory in Colorado.

If you've wanted to try Linux but have had cold feet because it's fairly untested in the enterprise network arena, take heart: IBM is putting some of its considerable muscle behind the technology.

Some people are born to lead millions. Others are born to write world-changing software. Only one person does both: Torvalds.

Operating systems and other "large blocks" of software will one day be free as a matter of course, Linux technical lead Linus Torvalds predicted.

In an address here at Internet World '99, the inventor of Linux took a dig at a couple of open-source wannabes as he predicted major changes in the way software is sold.

Based on Red Hat Software's Linux distribution, the $99 packages install on any Intel-compatible PC in as little as 15 minutes.

Linux may soon be coming to a sub-compact computer of your choice. Linux kernel developer Linus Torvalds told a crowd of Linux faithful that the "Win(dows)-CE crowd" is certainly going to be able to use Linux in the not-too-distant future.

An advocate will promote Linux by helping a newbie, sharing his experiences, or contributing to the open-source software movement. A zealot promotes Linux by shouting "LINUX FOREVER!!" and putting down other operating systems, and users of those operating systems.

"We're basically the EBay of Linux technical support," says Gonzalez founder and CEO of Boston-based Question Exchange.