What is Linux? Eight Ways It Changed Our Lives, Part 2

The first article in this series explored some of the astonishing impacts of Linux: allowing an entirely free computer system, and proving the viability of free and open source software. This article continues the series, covering the following trends:

• Triggering a move of companies toward open standards and open source implementations of core parts of their software
• Bringing modern software within the reach of millions more people
• Restructuring the computer industry through virtualization, containers, and the cloud

The Move Toward Open Standards and Open Source Implementations

Who would spend hard cash to develop software and give it away? This was the taunt aimed at free software by its critics for decades. But now it happens every day. Let’s look at how the shift has taken place.

As explained in the section “Proving the Viability of Free and Open Source Software” (see the first article in this series), businesses used to hide their source code and make sure no one else could derive benefit from their investment; no other course of action seemed rational. Linux taught them the opposite approach: if they share software, everyone moves ahead faster. Moving fast is critical to success in business during the twenty-first century, so free software becomes crucial.

Historically, computer companies were the first to learn the importance of collaborative development. Name a large, successful computer company—Intel, Amazon, Microsoft, Oracle, whatever—and you can find them working on free software projects. They may keep their core software proprietary (a trend I call closed core), but they contribute a lot of their work to the community for a number of reasons, including the hope that it will be enhanced by other companies’ and individuals’ contributions. Google strategically opened Kubernetes in order to build its cloud business. Google’s Android, an important but different kind of project, will be covered in the next installment of this series. The demonstrable business value of free software propelled large corporate conferences such as LinuxWorld (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Golden penguin awarded for a trivia contest held at LinuxWorld 2004

Every company is a bit of a computing company nowadays, so free software appeals to them too. A good example is the automobile industry, which is loading new cars with software, and which has an alliance dedicated to free software in cars. Naturally, their output is based on Linux.

The open source movement has democratized hiring, to some extent. Aspiring developers contribute to free software projects and cite those contributions in job interviews. The popular GitHub and GitLab sites expose each person’s contributions to make them highly visible to employers.

Finally, this rush to open source drives the creation of professional organizations such as the Linux Professional Institute (LPI). When companies depend on skills, they want to see demonstrated proficiency among job applicants, hence the development of certification programs such as those offered by LPI.

Bringing Software to Millions of People

Like so many things affluent people take for granted—drinkable water, for instance—computer access is strongly associated with economics. Middle-class people in developed countries automatically license a copy of Windows for home use. But in less wealthy countries, access is much more difficult—even in government offices. That’s why a 2024 study determined that, “Roughly 42% of installed software across the globe is still unlicensed” (i.e., violating copyright laws).

Yes, huge swaths of the world’s population use software in violation of the software vendors’ rules. At times this is tolerated (because the vendors hope the users will eventually turn into paying customers); at other times crackdowns occur. But there seemed to be no alternative until Linux came along.

Nobody has to feel guilty or furtive using Linux, because the whole system is free software. Many governments—particularly in Latin America—declared a preference for free software in the decade or so after Linux became well known. A recent convert to free software is the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Special computer systems were designed for low-income and underprivileged areas. Nicholas Negroponte’s Linux-based One Laptop Per Child garnered the most hype, but it didn’t live up to the promise. More relevant now are the many distributions for schools and schoolchildren, covered in another article.

The Linux Professional Institute works with dozens of companies, particularly professional training firms, who base their business models on Linux and free software. Located in places as different as Brazil, Bulgaria, and Japan, these companies know that Linux and free software provide a universal platform for education and advancement. The people who take these courses and obtain LPI certifications can build a better economy in their countries. (Many immigrate to more developed countries with higher salaries, but a good number stay at home.)

Restructuring the Computer Industry through Virtualization, Containers, and the Cloud

No one nowadays can escape cloud computing, a vague term but a useful one. The cloud is everywhere, whether you upload your photos and videos to an online service or run a business on virtual systems in the cloud. There are cloud services based on other cloud services, like the proverbial turtles that stand on other turtles. It seems like the easy thing for any company running a service is to sign up with AWS or Microsoft Azure.

Virtualization, represented by companies such as VMware, offered a proposition decades ago that corporate data center administrators couldn’t refuse: a more efficient use of hardware with significant cost savings. Then AWS launched the modern cloud era. Now containers have an even bigger impact, driving a re-assessment of what constitutes a computer application.

Besides their quest for efficiency and robust, scalable computing, the thing that draws all these trends together is their reliance on free software, notably Linux. The choice is totally practical. Who wants to count up instances of running systems and pay license fees when the systems can start up in seconds, disappear, and be replaced? Proprietary systems have defined special licenses for such situations, but the obvious choice is just to go with Linux, Xen, Kubernetes, and other free software with no baggage.

Linux is the most popular choice in data centers for another reason: it’s customizable to a degree that’s unimaginable for most operating systems. Administrators build in just the features and libraries they need for their data center. The kernel is draped in obscure configuration options meant for perfecting the use of the system for particular situations—options craved by administrators but meaningless to an end user, such as an option that chooses the queueing discipline for sending network packets. If you don’t understand what I said in that previous sentence, it just illustrates my point.

Linus Torvalds started Linux as an alternative to the unsatisfying free software options for personal computers. When data centers grasped the value of Linux, the development team focused on meeting their needs. Linux has now had a couple decades to refine its appeal to people concerned with virtualization, containers, and the cloud. In an April 2026 study, “90% of all public cloud infrastructure globally runs on” Linux, and that operating system also dominates containers. Virtualization, containers, and the cloud couldn’t have come so far without Linux.

The third and final part of this series will cover some impacts on society and hardware adoption.