Lessons learnt from Linux Asia 2006

“OSS on your resume makes it to be put on top of the piles.”- Zaheda Bhorat (Google)

Linux has a market capturing potential much higher for Unix Systems but not as muchfor the Desktop systems. Linux has excellent features for time critical applications. "Linux is Dell's Unix"

A new web specification has emerged which is totally based on open and communityinteration methods. It is formally to be called as Web 2.0.

OSS has excellent contributions for Enterprise level developement applications likeJ2EE. Tools include Eclipse, GCJ, Ant etc.

OSS has provided with a host of successful Security Tools which are worth using inthe Enterprise Segments. These include SNORT, NESSUS etc.

Patents are a great hurdle in the path of OSS movement. Patents basically "curtail theright to knowledge".

CDAC has produced a customized version of Linux called Abhigyan, which hasalmost complete localization for Indian Regional Languages.

Often a company invests too much to hide the code they steal from OSS projects,rather if it would have paid the OSS developers the the cost should have beenconsiderably lower. Moreover such acts lead ethical violations but helping the OSScommunity is benificient both the parties.

Linux is diving deep into the roots of Embedded Systems. It provides succinctfeatures which the hot new gadgets and gizmos really require and leads to lowdevelopement time.

Linux has affected the consumer electronics market too in significant manner. TheRealTime Linux Extensions are a great boon for the industry.

The computing indusry leaders viz. DELL, IBM, ORACLE, SUN MICROSYSTEMS,HCL, HP, NOVELL, GOOGLE, REDHAT and many many more have very wellbased many of their fortunes on the OSS platforms.

Contributed by:-Saleem Ahmed AnsariJMILUG