Linux and other open source applications are finding increasing acceptance in the global marketplace in small and large companies alike. Statistics on the growth of a few open source programs—like Apache, a web server; Linux, an operating system; FreeBSD, an operating system; and PostgreSQL, a database server—show this to be true. In this article, we’ll consider why open source is growing so fast, and what it means to you, the leader of a small company.

For years, Microsoft has reigned supreme as the 'only' choice for OEM partners on the x86 architecture. Later on, Apple switched from PPC (Power PC) to x86, but really did not make a dent in the OEM market, as Apple produces its own hardware, with OS X being a means to that end.

Now that Dell and Lenovo are running the distribution on some of its machines, and Novell is promoting a desktop version of Suse, the stage is set for a serious change in expectations. It was one thing when companies were using Linux quietly, on back-end systems like Web servers to cut costs or improve scalability.

"Schedules Direct, the folks that have been working towards providing listing data for MythTV users in the shadow of the impending shutdown of existing listing services by Zap2It, has finally announced pricing for their soon-to-be-available service. They will be initially charging $15 for a 3-month subscription, but anticipate substantial price decreases as they get more people on board. I for one am quite happy to hear this news."

Virgin America calls its new in-flight entertainment system “Red,” but it is really a gigantic sociological experiment in airborne distributed computing.

The Linux Foundation (LF), the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux , today announced that Markus Rex, a long-time Linux executive at SUSE Linux AG and Novell, will serve as chief technology officer at the Foundation.

Matthew Aslett reports that VC funding to open source startups rose more than 33% in 2Q07 vs. 2Q06. A decline in funding in 1Q07 resulted in an overall decline of 6.4% to $198.85M in 1H07 vs. 1H06. Matthew estimates that a total of $2.05B has been invested in open source startups since 2000.

By his own description, Dirk Riehle is a major fan of open source software. Riehle, leader of the open source research group at SAP Labs in Palo Alto, California, spends countless hours theorizing about the economics of this emerging software trend.