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Technology Open Source Takes on the World A battle is heating up over the operating systems of desktops, servers, and net- works around the world. On one side isMicrosoft Corp. of Redmond, Washington, which manufactures the lion's share of the world's software. On the other is the open source movement, which has the potential to change the nature of hardware and software as we use it today. "Open source" refers to software whose underlying source code is available for free. Independent pro- grammers can customize it to their own needs, even update and alter its functionality. Two technology com- panies—IBMof White Plains, New York, and SunMicrosystems of Palo Alto, California—are at the forefront of open source development. Sun's open source operating sys- "WE'RE EVOLVING FROM THE PC MODEL, SO THAT DEVICES STUDENTS USE TO ACCESS INFORMATION ARE NOT NECESSARILY PCS. OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE CAN BE DOWNLOADED ONCE, AND THEN RUN ANYWHERE FROM ANY STATION." tem, Solaris™, is based on its popular Unix operating system. Libraries such as the U.S. Library of Congress Keep IT Well-Integrated A study from McKinsey & Co., a management con- sulting firm based in New York, warns that busi- nesses that view information technology sepa- rately from other departments are making a mistake. For example, businesses such as hotels and banks, which often integrate technology only into isolated parts of their operations, have seen losses or modest gains in the last few years. In contrast, it cites Wal-Mart, the large retail chain headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, as an example other businesses might emulate. As a result of its complete integration of IT into all aspects of its operations, Wal-Mart has seen its market share leap from 9 percent in 1987 to 30 percent in 1999. 56 BizEd MARCH/APRIL 2002 model, so that devices students use to access information are not neces- sarily PCs. Open source software can be downloaded once, and then run anywhere from any station," he explains. For instance, a Sun product called Sun Ray allows students to store their information on a "smart card" so they can start and stop their sessions on the mainframe, from any station, seamlessly. This flexibility of open source are moving to this platform; e-learn- ing programs also are leaning to open source options, explains John Tuohy, Sun's higher education mar- keting manager. "We're evolving from the PC the Linux operating system running on an open source main frame. But maybe 1,000 students can use that mainframe and its software at the same time," she says. Because each station requires only a simple moni- tor hookup to a network, rather than a full-fledged PC, upgrades and repairs are simplified. products may be one of their biggest selling points, agrees Sheila Harnett, an engineer with IBM's Linux Technology Center. The Center employs about 250 engineers who gather and refine code for Linux, one of the best known operating sys- tems in the open-source market. "You may have one instance of is the underlying engine that keeps the open source community running, explains Harnett. "Because it's open source, the software matures very rapidly," she explains. "The community is working on many different pieces, which are maturing at different rates." The upgraded product is then distributed by companies that specialize in open source, such as Red Hat Software of Durham, North Carolina. Although open source, by its Linus Torvalds, then a student at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Torvalds, who now works for Transmeta Corporation in Santa Clara, California, manages Linux's "kernel," or primary code, and owns the Linux trademark. Programmers worldwide make changes and send them to Torvalds and his group, who incorporate the best into the software. That process Linux was invented in 1991 by D ATA B I T In 2001, members of America Online, the world's largest online community, spent $33 billion online. This number represents a 67 percent increase over 2000, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. nature, is free to the general public, companies that distribute the soft- ware make money from connected goods and services: hardware, com- patible software applications, and support services. Nonetheless, as