When it comes to computer systems for persons with physical disabilities, Linux

has something of an image problem. It's usually not a first choice -- most of the time, it's not even considered as a distant last resort.

Linux went from strength to strength during 2000. Though the bubble burst for technology companies, many of the world's biggest players are still putting their faith in the open source operating system.

"Afraid to switch to Linux because you've heard there isn't enough software out there that runs on the Linux OS? Don't fret. We've picked five outstanding Linux apps, including a browser, an image editor, and a batch of office suites (one for developers, one for regular users, and a free one for cheapskates)."

Aggressive is the one word that describes IBM?s product and marketing strategy this year. In almost every instance, Big Blue took the high road in making strategic decisions that would affect how it would be positioned as a company and, ultimately, how its product line would be viewed. This was the year Big Blue took risks.

"Fortunately, the open source software comm-unity had developed the necessary elements. The Linux operating system (OS), the GNU application development environment, and software for passing messages between the nodes of the parallel system enables a beowulf to function like the much more expensive massively parallel computers marketed by SGI and IBM."

"The Open Source Initiative recognized 18 different licenses as Open Source Software licenses. If a program adheres to one of these licenses, then it can officially be considered Open Source. Each one of these licenses have a time and place in the Open Source world, and each one has it's own unique history."

"You must also remember that this Windows tech came from just one source, and was not manipulated by the population at large. No one could change the base code

for the interface, save a handful of developers. This closed, for-profit only mentality may have led to the EMP incident. It would certainly explain the Redmond Riots in 2024."

Despite a vicious downturn in the stock market value of top Linux companies, the four top Unix vendors IBM, HP, Compaq, and Sun Microsystems finally said "I do" to Linux in 2000.

"DOSMINIX for NT emulates the original Intel 86 processor and only has access to the memory originally available to the crummy little DOS box. But it provides a great opportunity to mess around with a UN*X box on an NT machine with little or no CPU and memory overhead."

The staff at the Linux Hardware Database have put together the ultimate guide to finding the perfect Linux laptop.