Unlike publishers of proprietary operating systems, the Linux distribution vendors have no incentive to build in proprietary protocols that would lock users to that particular distribution. Linux does not even have a price for the base OS, much less per-user licensing fees. The same inexpensive software used for single-user workstations is equally capable of supporting environments with tens of thousands of users. For example, Linux distributions ship with Samba, which allows Windows workstations to share files with Linux servers, and with Netatalk, which gives the same support for Macintosh systems. The preponderance of professional opinion in the computing community suggests that the answer is resoundingly yes.
Consumers Love It.
In particular, as a server, Linux's modular architecture allows the administrator to turn off graphics and other non-related subsystems for extreme performance in a particular service. You might assume that the person who wrote the above words to be a Linux zealot. The actual authors are Vinod Valloppillil and Josh Cohen of Microsoft Corporation. The text is from a memo explaining Linux to Microsoft executives. Standard Certifications Linuxcare Labs has certified the IBM ThinkPad A21e and the Kingston KNE100TX and KNE120TX Fast Ethernet Adapters, enabling users to achieve full functionality under Linux.