Freeware Usage

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

1. Netcraft site survey : Statistics concerning web servers, including the freeware Apache
   Statistics concerning Northern Europe (SE, FI, NO, DK)
2. SiteMetrics Corporation Enterprise Web Server Survey Results, Last Modified: Monday, 02-Feb-98.
3. 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
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Sizing the Linux Market
7. 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.
8. 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.]
9. Linux Counter and its twin brother
10. MkLinux counter
11. Linux Journal: Circulation - Demographics
12. The Internet Operating System Counter and the alternate location [ no longer available at former location]
13. various Internet statistics.

1. InterWeather promises net 'weather report' accuracy Computergram, May 1998. Software released under GPL, seeking community improvement
2. 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 ...
3. 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.
4. CHORUS/ClassiX r3.1 for x86/Pentium Family, an example of freeware included in a commercial offer from the company Chorus System
5. Fort Apache, Michael Moeller, PC Week, June 9, 1997. [some companies using Apache, see also the Netcraft site survey]
6. 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)
7. Freely Redistributable Software in Business
8. Commercial Support
9. Commercial Publishers
10. 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
11. Intranet Explorer, Maggie Biggs, Computer CurrentsDecember 9, 1997 - Bay Area Edition.
12. Freeware Player Thrives During Browser Battle Apache: Peaceful Web Warrior , Amy Olmstead ABCNEWS, New York, January 29 1998.
13. 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]
14. Free Software in the Media: a variety of links to articles about free software, or about related products.
15. 

Netscape

1. Netscape now--for free CNET staff
2. The next battleground: Linux vs. Windows?, Mary Jo Foley, ZDNet News, April 3, 1998
3. 

Linux

1. For statistics and usage surveys, see the general section above
2. 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 ...
3. 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 ]
4. The Greatest OS That (N)ever Was, Glyn Moody, Wired 5.08, August 1997.
5. Deals Boost Visibility -- Linux OS makes inroads at retail stores, Bradley J. Fikes, Computer Retail Week, N. 168, 28 Avril 1997.
6. 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)
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11. 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. ]
12. 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.
13. 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).
14. 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.]
15. 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.
16. 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.
17. 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. ]
18. The Corel Video Network Computer, Corel Press Release, OTTAWA, Canada, October 27, 1997. a Linux-based Network Computer
19. 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.
20. WatchGuard Security Management System (SMS) software A firewall based on a Linux box
21. Swedish server and firewalling products by Signum
22. Cobalt Microserver: A zero-admin Linux box, Bill Machrone, PC Week Online, February 23 1998.
    see also Cobalt Microserver press release
23. Linux Means Business at Holt Public Schools, Mark Lachniet Linux Journal, N. 41, September 1997, pp. 34-36.
24. Caldera Network Desktop 1.0 ships, Orem, Utah Feb. 5, 1996. The Caldera environment, with references to customers and partners
25. 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, ...
26. About Deja News : Deja News Technical Information,
27. 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
28. Linux Enterprise Computing
29. 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
30. Linux Resources for High Energy Physics - Linux at Fermilab
31. CERN Linux User group prepares a standard Linux distribution for physicists based on Red Hat.
32. Linux in the commercial world, Christopher Blizzard A gathering of many reviews of Linux as an operating system.
33. 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.
34. Linux lines up for the enterprise, Rick Cook, SunWorld, Vol. 12, No. 1, January 1998.
35. Fired for Choosing Linux?, Jesse Berst, February 16, 1998.
36. Linux auf SCENIC Celsius!, 11 Dezember, 1997. [ Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG is marketing PC stations running under S.u.S.E. Linux ]
37. Linux, un système d'exploitation "libre" qui défie Microsoft WASHINGTON, 19 fév (AFP) - Jeudi 19 février 1998 08:01:04 GMT
38. GNU/Linux Triunfa en Sistemas de Tiempo Real Jorge Ocón, INDRA, February 23 1998 (last modified).
    GNU/Linux in use in Real Time Systems
39. Introduction to Linux A 4 days course by Learning Tree International in the UK and US [March 2, 1998].
40. Linux Reviews and Articles: a very complete list of articles about Linux, with abstracts.
41. 

1. Linux Serving IKEA, Anders Östling; Linux Journal, #19, November 1995. ,
2. Linux Helps Bring Titanic to Life, Daryll Strauss and Wook Linux Journal, #46, February 1998.
3. Linux Launches with U.S. Space Shuttle, Linux Journal, April 1997.
4. Linux in Camouflage, Lieutenant Colonel Joel D. Hart Linux Journal, #44, December 1997, pp. 68-71 : A Linux Maneuver Control System for the Army

1. A GNU/Linux New Desktop Hardware Proposal - Why New Hardware Manufacturers Should Embrace GNU/Linux, Chromium Void, 32 Bits Online, March 2, 1998
2. 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.
3. 

Awards for Freeware

1. 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.]
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. BYTE Magazine 1997 Editors' Choice Award of Distinction to Caldera OpenLinux 1.1, Byte Magazine, December 1977.
5. 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
6. Perl , 1st place in the Scripting Languages category of the 1997 Web Tools Awards of Web Review, June 1997
7. WatchGuard Security Management System (SMS) software A firewall based on a Linux box
8. 

• Applix and Red Hat Software Announce Applixware for Red Hat Linux
• AltaVista replies for query: lmbench - "freely distributed software"
• Indiana University Hypermail about Linux : Kernel-bench - Alphal-bench
  Bob Livingston (inforworld) on Windows 95 crashes
  

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