Linux had a big birthday recently -- its 20th -- but the event may have been a tad bittersweet for its most devoted fans. According to recent results of the annual application development survey from Santa Cruz, Calif.-based researcher <a href="http://www.evansdata.com/">Evans Data Corp.</a> , Linux has slipped to third place in popularity, behind Mac OS and, of course, Windows.
War does funny things sometimes. today, we have the Internet-a redundant network of independent computers-because the federal government wanted to ensure communications even if one particular computer was wiped out by an atomic bomb. It started as the DARPAnet, a Department of Defense project, and today it's bolstering the global economy as never before. And since countries tend not to bomb their trading partners, this offshoot of war is a big contributor to peace.
Technology is pushing out the boundaries of the possible. Its potential is intoxicating-except if you're the CIO, who's responsible for managing this technological event horizon as its boundaries become indistinct. But that's technology: The more it advances, the more tenuous its connections, kind of like the ripple that fades after a pebble is dropped into a pond.
It's beginning to look like dealing with Y2K is a lot like checking into a fancy resort where every staff member has their hand out. First it was the programmers, flush with the comfort of a booming job market. Then it was the consultants. Now the lawyers and the insurance companies are getting into the act.