The capitalisation of many Internet companies has little relationship to traditional asset values. The market has come to terms with this exceptionally high value in relation to asset value, but many are asking if the bubble will burst and send the share prices plunging downward. Academe has joined with business to plot the future of e-commerce. It expects to plan a roadmap for people, processes, technology and payment solutions in Internet commerce. The code is being developed by volunteer programmers from around the world and may be downloaded via the Internet.
Income is generated through the sale of books and relating services.
Until now, the operating system has been the domain of programmers, used to working with Unix systems. The latest version of Linux is described as being remarkably similar in look to the Windows operating systems and very much easier for non-programmers to use. One journalist said he still had difficulty installing drivers to run certain pieces of equipment. Without a strong, global support network, this means the system still has a way to go before it could become a real competitor to the current market leader. The system is being used on a cluster basis with 128 Intel II, 450Mhz processors to form a high powered computer.