And in the database creation and management category, IBM is further proving its support of open source software by releasing its DB2 Universal Database for Linux . Although currently in beta, DB2 provides JDK 1.1.7 compatibility. The speed, scalability, and security of Linux make it the operating system a prime target for database-intensive applications. By forging alliances with popular game companies, Lokisoft may have found one of the many keys to financial success on the Linux platform. Software has proven to be a friend of the Linux cause by being the first major game studio to release its popular games for Linux as well as releasing source code for older titles.
Games are more important than they seem.
More than just entertainment, they're responsible for a large percentage of hardware purchases in the home user market, from 3D accelerator cards to joysticks to faster processors. Porting popular game software to Linux will also make a strong case for Linux driver support from hardware manufacturers. So there you have a select choice of Linux options for office suite, database solutions, communications tools, and entertainment. For Linux to succeed on the desktop, however, we'll need to see many more. Fortunately, if the past year has been any indication of the progress in development, we're getting there faster than anyone thought possible.