Linux Seen Vying with Windows for Dominance

The Linux Foundation says Linux now is moving into its second stage of growth, in which it vies with Microsoft Windows as a dominant computing platform.

Having gained industry-wide recognition, Linux now is moving into its second stage of growth, in which it vies with Microsoft Windows as a dominant computing platform, Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation, said Wednesday.

The computing world will be dominated by two ideas, open and closed, and two platforms, Linux and Windows, according to Zemlin, speaking at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo in San Francisco.

"I think Windows is not going to go away," he said.

Microsoft, while sometimes demonized, should be respected, said Zemlin. The company is a good competitor and, like a competitor would, spends a lot of money and public relations creating doubt about open source and legal issues, he said. Windows also enjoys the advantage in that users know something will run on the platform if they see the Windows logo. But this comes at a high cost -- lack of choice and vendor lock-in, said Zemlin.