【正文】 so. Sybase later announces their support for Linux also. Linus appears on the cover of Forbes magazine. A lengthy story presents Linux in a highly positive manner and brings the system to the attention of many who had never heard of it before. Linux begins to bee a household word. September 1998 is launched by Dave Whitinger and Dwight Johnson. The site, later acquired by , arguably bees the most wellread and visited Linux portal of all time. Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer admits that they are ``worried’’ about free software and suggests that some of the Windows NT source code may be made available to developers. The same month Microsoft goes on to list Linux as a petitive threat in its annual SEC (US Securities and Exchange Commission) filing. Speculation abounds that their real purpose is to influence the uping antitrust trial. October 1998 ``For the moment, however, the pany from Redmond, Washington, seems almost grateful for the rising profile of Linux, seeing it as an easy way of demonstrating that Windows is not a monopoly, ahead of its antitrust trial, scheduled to begin on October 15. That may be shortsighted. In the long run, Linux and other opensource programs could cause Mr. Gates much grief.’’The Economist, October 3, 1998 Intel and Netscape (and two venture capital firms) announce minority investments in Red Hat Software. The money is to be used to build an ``enterprise support division’’ within Red Hat. An unbelievable amount of press is generated by this event, which is seen as a bigbusiness endorsement of Linux. Corel announces that WordPerfect 8 for Linux will be downloadable for free for ``personal use’’. They also announce a partnership with Red Hat to supply Linux for the Netwinder. December 1998 A report from IDC says that Linux shipments rose by more than 200% in 1998, and its market share rose by more than 150%. Linux has a 17% market share and a growth rate unmatched by any other system on the market. January 1999 ``Microsoft Corp. will shout it out to the world when Windows 20xx finally ships. Linux creator Linus Torvalds announced the arrival of the next generation of Linux, version , with a simple note to the Linuxkernel mailing list.’’Steven J. VaughanNichols, Smrt Reseller Samba is released. It contains a reverseengineered implementation of the Microsoft domain controller protocols, allowing Linux servers to provide plete services to Windows works. HewlettPackard and Compaq announce plans to offer Linuxbased systems. Later, Dell also announces plans to begin selling Linuxinstalled systems. SGI contents itself with providing information on how to bring up Linux on its systems. Loki Entertainment Software announces that it will port Civilization: Call to Power to Linux. February 1999 Linux and BSD users unite for ``Windows Refund Day’’. They visit Microsoft, hoping to return the unused Windows licenses that they were forced to acquire when they purchased a puter system bundled with the OS. March 1999 ``Like a Russian revolutionary erased from a photograph, he is being written out of history. Stallman is the originator of the Free Software movement and the GNU/Linux operating system. But you wouldn’t know it from reading about LinuxWorld (Expo). Linus Torvalds got all the ink.’’Leander Kahney, Wired magazine, March 1999 The first LinuxWorld Conference and Expo is held in San Jose, California. As the first big mercial ``tradeshow’’ event for Linux, it serves notice to the world that Linux has arrived。 a value that seems high at the time. ``For the umpteenth time, someone paved paradise, put up a parking lot. For the thousands of Linux coders who’ve built the utopian opensource movementoffering free help to create a free operating systemthe IPO of Red Hat Software was a sure sign of Wall Street cutting the ribbon on the new Linux mall.’’The Industry Standard Motorola jumps into Linux announcements of embedded systems products, support and training services, and a partnership with Lineo. Sun acquires StarDivision。 they can only lead where they know the people will follow.’’``Innovation, Regulation, and the Inter’’ by Lawrence Lessig for The American Prospect. A new version of LILO is posted that is able to get past the 1024cylinder boot limit that has plagued PC systems for years. The latest Netcraft survey shows Apache running on just over 60% of the Web. Caldera Systems goes public after a short delay, on March 21. The stock, which was offered at $14/share, began trading at $26 and closed at $. It thus registered a 110% gain on its first day. ``Caldera knows of no pany that has built a profitable business based in whole or in part on opensource software.’’Caldera SEC filing Walnut Creek (the parent pany for Slackware) and BSDi announce their merger. Yahoo! will be taking an equity investment in the new pany. Motorola Computer Group announces the release of its HA Linux distribution. This distribution is aimed at telemunications applications that require very high amounts of uptime。 it is, perhaps, the most plete gathering of Linux kernel hackers in history. April 20xx IBM gets into trouble over its ``Peace, Love and Linux’’ graffiti in several cities. ``Slackware has always made money (who else producing a mercial distribution can say that?), but with BSDi we ended up strapped to a sinking ship.’’Patrick Volkerding May 20xx Sony’s PlayStation Linux kit, shipped in Japan, sells out in eight minutes despite a doubling of the available stock. June 20xx Sharp announces its uping Linux PDA based on Lineo’s Embedix system. VA Linux Systems exits the hardware business, choosing to focus on SourceFe instead. Later VA drops the word ``Linux’’ from its name altogether, relaunching as VA Software Corporation. ``In a press release issued Wednesday afternoon, VA Lin