Tux Watch

Linux has been part of mainstream technological advancements worldwide with the momentum continuously increasing everyday especially when Linux enemies like Microsoft too are digging their way into the FOSS movement through partnerships with Novell. The Information Technology industry is vast and spans globally thus anything happening in the industry in one region also affects the other. After observing the overall Linux industry trends [you can read the year 2006 reflections by at Matt at InfoWorld here], I would like to make the following predictions that will drive the next year:

• Linux will continue to be the leading and preferred server-side operating system in 2007 worldwide.

• 80% of all US based Venture Capital investments will be targeted at
  startups and companies delivering services using Free and Open Source Software.
• 98% all European Venture Capital investments will be targeted at startups and companies delivering services using Free and Open Source Software.
• Linux distributions will continue to add and distribute Blogging Tools, RSS integration in all user-centric applications.
• Thin client hardware and applications continue to be the leading investments in the IT hardware sector promoting Linux Terminal Server Project LTSP.
• Leading Laptop manufacturers release low-cost versions of their products running the Linux Operating System thus slashing software licensing costs, the preferred desktop platform will be Ubuntu Linux.
• SELinux (Security Enabled Linux by NSA distributed within Red Hat, Suse, Ubuntu, Gentoo etc) continues to be the preferred security policy, administration and audit tool beating the claims of all major Anti-Virus and Protection vendors and their information security offering.
• 90% of all mobile phone and palm-held device manufacturing companies will be releasing latest models of their gadgets running the Linux Kernel. Almost all new embedded device innovations will be running Embedded Linux.
• All new Telecom Standards and Research will continue to be released under open source and open standards. Linux based Telecom applications will be a hot choice.
• Google continues to deny launch of a Google enabled Linux Operating System but still has a number of surprises for Linux lovers. Google will continue to find alternatives to combat Microsoft Vista and the new MS Internet Explorer Browser as MS tries to promote more of its own branded search products through its operating system and browsers.
• Google might launch a Google Search and Application Gadgets enabled Internet Browser based upon Mozilla/Firefox to support the campaign to reclaim the Internet, Google “Browser” will lead the Mozilla and FireFox browser rule over the internet.
• Oracle’s Unbreakable Linux will continue to gain popularity but will not be able to break the enterprise confidence of Red Hat and it’s stability and control over the server and web sides.
• Red Hat will be seeing a major increase in the use of its enterprise server distributions and revenues since Novell Linux Users will prefer Red Hat over the commercial versions of Novell Open Enterprise Linux solutions.
• Bill Gates continues to act sweet with Linux, Linus Torvalds and Richard M. Stallman whereas on a separate note, Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer continues to fool himself claiming that Linux infringes Microsoft’s and its Window’s Operating Systems Patents.
• Novell’s Suse Linux will be seeing a decrease in sales and usage due to its Microsoft partnership facing ethical, ideological and philosophical beliefs based debate from the FOSS Movement activists, system administrators and developers worldwide.
• Novell will finally learn that partnering with Microsoft means that MS will wipe out Novell!
• Ubuntu-Linux will continue to be possibly the most favorite and preferred Linux Desktop Operating System distribution.
• Ubuntu-Linux Desktop will continue to be the preferred choice of use deployed by 98% Telecenters and Community Technology/Multimedia Centers worldwide.
• Ubuntu-Linux & Canonical Ltd. will possibly lead some of the largest ICT education movements worldwide including women and gender empowerment through ICTs and FOSS.
• Three new Linux distributions on both the enterprise server and desktop sides will be released by existing and emerging technology vendors worldwide.
• Open Office will officially release Web Office, Blogging, RSS reading support and add the facility to tag documents with keywords searchable through Blog tagging and bookmarking services online.
• Online Web Offices developed using Free and Open Source Software running on Linux and Apache will be the most preferred of such applications.
• Six new Enterprise Resource Planning systems targeting vertical industries licensed under FOSS, will be built and released by leading IT Industry companies and introduced in Asia. These ERP systems will be running on Linux, developed using open source Java and database backends.
• In both developed and developing world countries’, their Academia, Public, Private and Civil Society sectors continue to migrate to Linux and adopt open standards interoperability as the standard requirement in government procurement tenders and contracts and for dissemination of services and information to the public.
• South American, African, European Member States, Central Asian, Asian and Asian Pacific countries continue to use FOSS and Linux both as an alternative to combat software piracy and develop local skills, products and innovative ICT industries thus these regions will continue to be the largest users of Linux in the World.
• Anti-Software Piracy Campaigns and Intellectual Property Rights protection enforcements will continue to encourage computer users to increase the use of Linux Operating System, FireFox, Open Office and development of legacy applications on FOSS and Linux.
• Negroponte’s US$100 Laptop will continue to push its way into developing world countries and might receive heavy criticism for displaying a different machine running on higher memory specs during demonstrations/presentations to prospective buying country’s Government Officials whereas the original laptop to be shipped will be carrying lower memory and less performance and will be labeled the US$100 Laptop’s RAM Scandal. The laptop project might prefer Canonical’s Xubuntu Linux Operating System for low-spec hardware machines to significantly improve the performance of their little green machine.
• The Intel Community PC might face criticism for its high price value and pressure that it should only run Linux.
• Linux will witness an increase of usage by women and young girls worldwide as they participate in “Linux Women and Linux Chics” campaigns worldwide.
• LPI-Linux Professional Institute will witness a major increase in the number of Ubuntu-Linux Certified Professionals in its Linux exams.
• Linux training and education programmes will be taught in every school, college and university around the world. These programmes will also be integrated in to K-12 and Higher Education.
• Researchers at R&D institutions worldwide will continue to release their research under Open Access and Open publishing licenses.
• Creative Commons will be the most preferred alternate Intellectual Property Rights licensing tool for both publications and FOSS around the world.
• Linux will be declared the official operating system environment of the United Nations and the UN will recommend all member state countries to use the Linux OS in Academia, Government and Small & Medium Enterprise Business and Industry.
• The FOSS Movement will be noted in the history of Humanity as the largest knowledge oriented global human rights movement for the realization of their ICT Software Freedom and guess who triggered it in the first place!

Finally, www.TuxWatch.com will be the most preferred Blog for news and views about Linux and Free and Open Source Software Technology. Really? Just kidding, have a great Christmas and Happy New Year to all of my readers, 451Press.com network members and of course, the Linux and FOSS World!