LINUX POWERS EVERYTHING

Developing software for supercomputers is expensive; during the 1980s, Cray was spending as much on software development as it was on its hardware. In a trend that would only grow, Cray initially shifted to

UNIX System V, then a BSD-based OS, and eventually, in 2004, SUSE Linux to power its supercomputers. This was matched across the sector, and the top 500 supercomputers ( www.top500.org) now all run Linux.

Internet services have also all been developed to run on Unix systems. Microsoft and BSD systems do retain a good slice of services, but over 50 percent of web servers are powered by Linux. Recent moves to virtual services with container-based deployment are all Linux-based. Microsoft’s cloud service Azure reports Linux as its largest deployment OS and, more to the point, Google uses Linux to power most of its services. As do many other service suppliers.

Android’s mobile OS share dropped in 2020 to just 84 percent—it’s powered by Linux. Google bought the startup that was developing Android in 2005. LineageOS ( https:// lineageos.org) is a well-maintained fork of Android and supports most popular handsets well after their manufacturers abandon them.

Space was thought to be Linux’s final frontier, because it’s not a certified deterministic OS, which is the gold standard for real-time OSes in mission-critical situations. Turns out SpaceX rockets use Linux to power their flight systems, using a triple-redundancy system, while NASA has sent Linux to Mars in its latest drone. Tesla is also reportedly running Linux in its cars.

Linux has also been at the heart of Hollywood’s special effects since 1997’s Titanic used a Linux server farm of DEC Alphas at Digital Domain to create its CGI. DreamWorks’ Shrek in 2001 was the first film entirely created on Linux systems. Meanwhile, Pixar ported its Renderman system to Linux from SGI and Sun servers around 2000, in time to produce FindingNemo in 2003.