For the first time, quarterly revenues of Linux servers have exceeded $1 billion, according to a report from IDC. While Linux sales accounted for just 9.2 percent of the $11.5 billion in servers sold in the third quarter of 2004, it is safe to say that Linux is like a hot celebrity these days. Linux servers posted their ninth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, with year-over-year revenue growth of 42.6 percent and unit shipments increasing 31.7 percent.Still in the game, Unix servers experienced an 8.3 percent growth rate year over year, but a 2.3 percent revenue decline, to $4 billion for the quarter. Windows server revenues on x86 hardware grew 13.3 percent, with quarterly revenue of $3.9 billion. For an operating system that is available for free plus support costs, Linux is making a spectacular dent in the market, stealing the thunder from Windows and Unix. With Linux showing up everywhere, including on IBM mainframes, the open source platform has at least a chance to become the industry-standard operating platform. This would be much to the chagrin of Microsoft, with its still-dominant Windows platform, and perhaps Sun Microsystems, with its Solaris Unix operating system remaining one of the company’s crown jewels. In the early 1990s, I worked at a publication devoted to Unix. But Unix lost steam to Windows. Now, Linux is the new kid on the block. We’ll have to wait and see how far Linux can go or if there is another upstart in the making, perhaps in development as we speak in some university lab or in some unknown programmer’s garage. – By Paul Krill Technology Industry