Four Roles for Linux By J.D. Hildebrand O pen-source development has existed throughout the computer age, starting with the very first computers. In fact, detailed algorithms for Turing machines were published before the first practical computers were built. So you could say that open-source development predates the existence of the computer.
Memories are short in the software business.
For all practical purposes, when we refer to open-source computing we mean Linux. That's not fair or accurate, of course. Not to mention BSD, which has everything Linux has and plenty morebut which hasn't proved its worth with a string of flashy IPOs. No, it's not fair. But it's reality.