Freeware Usage
Because of its free character, it is very difficult to keep track of
freeware dissemination and use, whether private, educational or
commercial.
This page attempts to collect available information regarding the
dissemination and usage of freeware, or related information.
I would welcome any input and/or contribution (original or pointers)
to this topic. All types of freeware are relevant. Actually, I
consider as relevant data concerning free reources of all kinds,
whether or not they are software (for example elctronic books, like the Gutenberg Project).
Please forward contributions to the maintainer of this page
Bernard.Lang@inria.fr.
Thank you for helping.
Surveys, studies and statistics
-
Netcraft site survey :
Statistics concerning web servers, including the freeware
Apache
Statistics concerning Northern Europe (SE, FI, NO, DK)
-
SiteMetrics Corporation
Enterprise Web Server Survey Results,
Last Modified: Monday, 02-Feb-98.
-
Linux shipments up 212 percent
Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com, December 16, 1998. -
Shipments of the Linux operating system surged by 212 percent in
1998, a growth rate that outpaced Windows NT, NetWare, Unix, and
all others in the server market, according to a new study. And in the past year, the market share of Linux leapt from 6.8 percent to
an estimated 17.2 percent of server operating system
shipments... -
printer friendly
-
NT and UNIX: Irresistible Force vs. Immovable Object
Mary Hubley, Gartner Group, January 1998.
the NT force is not likely to take over UNIX anytime soon... The
fourth most-installed UNIX system is a rising star: Linux is the
newest UNIX system; it shows up in 14% of our respondents'
locations.
-
ISP Hardware and Software Purchases
May 5, 1998
more than 50% boxes assembled by ISP himself ... 50% NT servers,
26.1% ISP use Linux servers.
-
Sizing the Linux Market
-
Red Hat Linux users to get telephone support,
Rebecca Sykes (IDG News Service),
SunWorld,
Vol. 12, No. 1,
January 1998.
... according to Kusnetzky, Linux is probably on par with the
Macintosh OS. Kusnetzky estimates that between 2 million and 6 million
copies of Linux were installed in 1997, compared with around 3.8
million copies of the MacOS, over 7 million copies of Microsoft
Corp.'s NT Workstation and 1.2 million copies of IBM's OS/2.
-
Red Hat estimates there are 7.5M Linux users Computergram,
March 9, 1998.
to be compared with "official" Unix statistics for the same year in
Microsoft and Intel pitch into Unix's workstation stronghold
(same source, same date).
[ obviously, Unix statistics are ignoring Linux, ... as usual.]
-
Linux Counter and its
twin brother
-
MkLinux counter
-
Linux Journal:
Circulation
-
Demographics
-
The Internet Operating System Counter and the
alternate location
[ no longer available at
former location]
-
various Internet statistics.
-
Documents and web sites
-
InterWeather promises net 'weather report' accuracy
Computergram, May 1998.
Software released under GPL, seeking community improvement
-
Information Wants to be Valuable
A Report from the First O'Reilly Perl Conference,
Keith W. Porterfield
Presents for your consideration
a grim scenario of a world without free software ...
-
Dell Taking Aim at Unix With Windows NT Workstations,
James Gruener,
PC Week,
June 27, 1997.
[Figures concening the sales of UNIX and NT worstations]
see also
New Computer Operating System Rides Space Shuttle ,
Linux Gazette, issue #
15, March 1997.
-
CHORUS/ClassiX r3.1 for x86/Pentium Family,
an example of freeware included in a commercial offer from the
company
Chorus System
-
Fort Apache,
Michael Moeller,
PC Week, June 9, 1997.
[some companies using Apache, see also the Netcraft site survey]
-
Free Software Business Archives
a discussion list, its archive, and a few papers.
(alternative URLs and archive search:
-- ,
-- ,
-- ,
by
Deja News current
or
old database (search on "mgate.fsb" sorted by date),
or by
e-mail)
-
Freely Redistributable Software in Business
-
Commercial Support
-
Commercial Publishers
- The company
Crynwr Software's
main business is to sell support for free packet drivers, since its
creation by
Russell Nelson in 1991
(from the Free Software for Business forum).
See Russ Nelson's account of
the founding of Crynwr Software
-
Intranet Explorer, Maggie Biggs,
Computer CurrentsDecember 9, 1997 - Bay Area Edition.
-
Freeware Player Thrives During Browser Battle
Apache: Peaceful Web Warrior ,
Amy Olmstead
ABCNEWS, New York, January 29 1998.
-
A Titanic challenge to Microsoft,
Barton Crocket,
MSNBC, January 27 1998.
Mighty Alphas sink the Titanic
... but DEC can be very shy about the truth as seen in its
DIGITAL Alpha Server ad, 13 February 1998.
[see the
Linux Journal article]
-
Free Software in the Media:
a variety of links to articles about free software, or about
related products.
-
-
Netscape now--for free
CNET staff
-
The next battleground: Linux vs. Windows?,
Mary Jo Foley,
ZDNet News,
April 3, 1998
-
Documents concerning Linux being a sizeable part of the available
information, they have been regrouped separately
- For
statistics and usage surveys, see the general
section above
-
Red Hat Software Welcomes Netscape to World Domination!
Linux is the fastest growing non-Microsoft Operating System in
the world according to Dan Kusnetzky of IDC (International Data
Corporation - the leading computer industry analysts). In Sun World
Online Magazine, Kusnetzky estimates that ...
-
Number crunching '9, PC Week Staff, 12.22.97.
[ includes number of mentions of Linux in PC Week:
first on 7/28/93, 1 in 93, 47 in 96 and 28 in 97 ]
-
The Greatest OS That (N)ever Was,
Glyn Moody,
Wired
5.08,
August 1997.
-
Deals Boost Visibility -- Linux OS makes inroads at retail stores,
Bradley J. Fikes,
Computer Retail Week, N. 168, 28 Avril 1997.
- Utilisation de Linux chez
Pick Systems,
dans "D3 Bulletin Technique"
(bulletin d'information technique de Pick Systems France)
No. 6, Décembre 1996
(
pdf or
postscript)
avec traduction en Français de l'article de Linux Journal sur
l'informatisation de la ville de Garden Grove avec Linux
No. 10, Octobre-Novembre 1997
(
pdf or
postscript)
-
Highway POS System,
Marc L. Allen,
Linux Journal, November 1997, pp. 83-84 :
Schlumberger produces a Linux based retail petroleum point of
sale integrating electronic cash register, credit cards,
and fuel dispenser systems.
-
Linux is reading your mail,
John Taves, April 8, 1998.
The United States Postal Service deployed over 900 Linux based
systems throughout the United States in 1997 to automatically
recognize the destination addresses on mail pieces - information confirmed
by
RAF Technology, Inc.
-
Traveling Linux. An Implementation Experience for
Unattended Management Applications,
Maurizio Cachia
Linux Journal, #38,
June 1997, pp. 18-21 :
An integrated payment system for all public transport operators in a
the North-East part of Italy,
using about 90 PCs running under 1.2.13 Linux, operated
by
SAD Trasporto locale S.p.A.
-
A Pick System on the Intranet
(
word and
RTF)
Early version of the Garden Grove story published in
Linux Journal, March 1997, pp. 50-52.
Linux en Entreprise [text soon to be available],
mailto:Cyril Chaboisseau 15 mai 1998.
[ une expérience intéressante de mise en oeuvre du
système d'exploitation Linux dans le cadre d'une Entreprise :
l'Observatoire Européen de l'Audiovisuel. ]
Utilisation de LINUX chez Lectra-Systèmes,
Pierre Ficheux
Echo de Linux, Juillet 1996.
Un leader mondial dans la conception et la réalisation de
solutions de CAO, CFAO et machines de coupes
(confection, chaussure, ...) choisit Linux pour ses
solutions industrielles
Using LINUX at Lectra-Systèmes,
Pierre Ficheux,
Linux Journal, April 1997, pp. 53-57.
A world leader in the design and creation of the CAM solution,
CAD/CAM and cutting machines
(mainly for the footwear and apparel industry)
chooses Linux for its industrial solutions.
Mise en oeuvre d'un réseau mixte Linux/Windows dans un établissement scolaire
(html,
postscript),
Michel Quercia, mars 1998, présenté à la
conférence-débat "Logiciel libres: enjeux économiques",
Maison de la Mutualité, Paris, pour la fête de l'Internet,
(20 mars 1998).
Le projet informatique des trois soleils,
École Les trois soleils, Ste-Dorothée, Laval (Québec),
26 mars 1998.
[ Réutilisation d'équipement ancien, grâce
à des terminaux X sous Linux en environnement scolaire.]
Grundig TV-Communications,
Ted Kenney,
Linux Journal, October 1997, pp. 53-56.
Linux servers and applications are being used in Denmark to
provide an interactive teletext system for TV viewers and to offer
phones and movies to hospital patients.
Network Video System,
Digital Video Systems
February 21, 1998.
An Intranet Video Server that delivers 30 frames per second, full motion
video with 704x480 high resolution video to classrooms, in-store media
promotion, cable TV and entertainment venues.
A Linux installation in the retail industry,
Evan Summers,
Universal Computer Services,
Johannesburg, South Africa, March 11 1998.
[ A large Linux installation of approximately 5000 machines,
installed in over 1000 sites, remotely maintained, for a Group of
retail chains. Typically each site has one Linux server, and 4
diskless Linux PCs (booting Linux via bootROMs from the server).
Central servers also run Linux. ]
The Corel Video Network Computer,
Corel Press Release, OTTAWA, Canada, October 27, 1997.
a Linux-based Network Computer
Linux can provide a cost-effective way to salvage all those aging 486s,
Nicholas Petreley,
NC World,
August 1997.
How to turn your old PC's into Network Computers - this is the trendy
presentation by the author, but an old 386 or 486 can just be a Unix
station, using a more recent PC as server for files, CPU, or
services such as printing and net connection... much more flexible
than a NC.
WatchGuard Security Management System (SMS) software
A firewall based on a Linux box
Swedish server and firewalling products by
Signum
Cobalt Microserver: A zero-admin Linux box,
Bill Machrone,
PC Week Online, February 23 1998.
see also Cobalt Microserver
press release
Linux Means Business at Holt Public Schools,
Mark Lachniet
Linux Journal, N. 41, September 1997, pp. 34-36.
Caldera Network Desktop 1.0 ships, Orem, Utah Feb. 5, 1996.
The Caldera environment, with references to customers and partners
32-Bit Operating System ? Consider Alternatives,
Jameson Burt, June 4, 1997.
(mirror)
A discussion of the quality of free OS like Linux and FreeBSD, and
references to various users (NASA, Southwest Airlines, Sixt Rent-a-Car,
Yahoo, Boeing, ...
About Deja News : Deja News Technical Information,
Linux Business Applications, sponsored by
M-Tech Mercury Information Technology, Inc.
A list of references to commercial sites that make use of Linux
to support their day-to-day business function.
-- you can add your own
Linux Enterprise Computing
Linux supercomputing
-
I'm Not Going to Pay a Lot for This Super Computer !
Linux Journal, issue 45
-
Loki - Commodity Parallel Processing,
Michael S. Warren and
M. Patrick Goda,
Theoretical Division
at
Los Alamos National Laboratory, August 21, 1977.
A supercomputer built from commodity components :
1.2 real Gflops for $63,000 or
less ...
Parallel Supercomputing with Commodity Components,
Michael S. Warren et al.,
Proceedings of the International Conference on Parallel and
Distributed Processing Techniques and Applications (PDPTA'97),
pages 1372-1381, 1997.
(
html
and
postscript)
-
Large Linux Systems: large clusters and multiprocessors
-
Beowulf:
Beowulf is a project to produce the software for off-the-shelf
clustered workstations based on commodity PC-class hardware, a
high-bandwidth internal network, and the Linux operating system.
-
SWARM Linux supercomputer
-
Grendel Linux supercomputing cluster
-
Linux supercomputing cluster at Caltech
Linux Resources for High Energy Physics
-
Linux at Fermilab
CERN Linux User group
prepares a standard Linux distribution for physicists based on Red Hat.
Linux in the commercial world,
Christopher Blizzard
A gathering of many reviews of Linux as an operating system.
Linux in a Gray Flannel Suit,
Jim Mohr,
Byte, March 1997 -
with
screen display.
It's powerful. It's open. It's free. That's why this
Unix is entering corporate IS.
Linux lines up for the enterprise,
Rick Cook,
SunWorld,
Vol. 12, No. 1,
January 1998.
Fired for Choosing Linux?, Jesse Berst, February 16, 1998.
Linux auf SCENIC Celsius!, 11 Dezember, 1997.
[ Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG is marketing PC stations
running under
S.u.S.E.
Linux ]
Linux, un système d'exploitation "libre" qui défie Microsoft
WASHINGTON, 19 fév (AFP) - Jeudi 19 février 1998 08:01:04 GMT
GNU/Linux Triunfa en Sistemas de Tiempo Real
Jorge Ocón, INDRA, February 23 1998 (last modified).
GNU/Linux in use in Real Time Systems
Introduction to Linux A 4 days course by
Learning Tree International in the
UK and
US [March 2, 1998].
Linux Reviews and Articles:
a very complete list of articles about Linux, with abstracts.
Articles from Linux Journal
-
Linux Serving IKEA,
Anders Östling;
Linux Journal,
#19, November 1995.
,
-
Linux Helps Bring Titanic to Life,
Daryll Strauss
and Wook
Linux Journal,
#46, February 1998.
-
Linux Launches with U.S. Space Shuttle,
Linux Journal, April 1997.
-
Linux in Camouflage,
Lieutenant Colonel Joel D. Hart
Linux Journal,
#44, December 1997, pp. 68-71 :
A Linux Maneuver Control System for the Army
About Linux
-
A GNU/Linux New Desktop Hardware Proposal
- Why New Hardware Manufacturers Should Embrace GNU/Linux,
Chromium Void,
32 Bits Online,
March 2, 1998
-
A Finnish Subversive's Plan to Overthrow Windows Linus Torvalds
gives his Linux operating system away for free,
Tom Abate,
The San Francisco Chronicle,
March 4, 1998.
-
Awards for Freeware
-
Linux - product of the year, 03/01/98
[Linux got the prestige award of
czech Software News - Product of
the year 1997. see
the whole story in Czech.]
-
Best desktop operating system to
Red Hat Linux 4.0
(
Product Reviews, Oct. 14),
The best of 1996 from
InfoWorld,
January 27, 1997, page 82.
-
Best Technical Support Award to Linux user community,
and
Network Operating System of the year
in the
1997 product of the year
from
InfoWorld,
February 3 1998.
-
BYTE Magazine 1997 Editors' Choice Award of Distinction
to Caldera OpenLinux 1.1,
Byte Magazine,
December 1977.
-
SWISH
(Simple Web Indexing System for
Humans), by Kevin Hughes
Honorable Mention in the Search Tools category of the
1997 Web Tools Awards
of
Web Review,
June 1997
-
Perl ,
1st place in the Scripting Languages category of the
1997 Web Tools Awards
of
Web Review,
June 1997
-
WatchGuard Security Management System (SMS) software
A firewall based on a Linux box
Notes:
benchmarks
-
licences
-
usage
-
abuse
-
text
-
advocacy
-
shareware
-
freeware sources
-
main
-
français
-
papers
Le contenu de ces pages relève de la seule
responsabilité de leurs auteurs, et ne représente pas
le point de vue officiel de l'INRIA. Les
informations sont présentées de bonne foi, mais leur
exactitude ne saurait être garantie.
All documents are under the responsibility of their authors, and do
not represent the official views of INRIA. The information
is given in good faith, but its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.