50 Places Linux is Running That You Might Not Expect
Updated: March 23, 2010
It was not long ago when Microsoft Windows had a tight stranglehold on
the operating system market. Walk into a Circuit City or Staples, it
seemed, and virtually any computer you took home would be running the
most current flavor of Windows. Ditto for computers ordered direct from a
manufacturer. In the last decade, though, the operating system market
has begun to change. Slightly more than 5% of all computers now run Mac,
according to NetMarketShare.com. Linux is hovering just beneath 1% of
the overall market share in operating systems. And although that might
sound like a small number, Linux is far more than just a fringe OS. In
fact, it's running in quite a few more places than you probably suspect.
Below are fifty places Linux is running today in place of Windows or
Mac. For easy reading, they are divided amongst government, home,
business, and educational usage.
Government Users of Linux
Governments at all levels (national, state, federal and international)
have opted to deploy Linux across their computer systems for a host of
reasons. Some are purely technological, with the governments in question
preferring the open-source benefits of the OS. Others are financial, as
Linux is typically far less expensive than buying a license for
Windows. Still others are political, as organizations like the World
Trade Organization have actively pressured governments to shun Microsoft
products. In any case, here are some of the governing bodies that now
run Linux on their computers.
U.S. Department of Defense
According to Linux.com, the United States Department of Defense is the
"single biggest install base for Red Hat Linux" in the world. Nor was it
an unconscious choice, as Brigadier General Nick Justice, the Deputy
Program Officer for the Army's Program Executive Office proclaims "open
source software is part of the integrated network fabric which connects
and enables our command and control system to work effectively, as
people's lives depend on it." Justice went on to state that "when we
rolled into Baghdad, we did it using open source", and that he was
indeed Red Hat's "biggest customer."
U.S. Navy Submarine Fleet
FreeSoftwareMagazine.com reveals that "the US Navy nuclear submarine fleet is using GNU/Linux" as well.
The City of Munich, Germany
The city of Munich, Germany has "chosen to migrate its 14,000 desktops
to a free Linux distribution, rather than a commercial version of the
open source operating system" according to a 2005 ZD Net report. The
distribution Munich chose was Debian, and is said to have "considered
several alternatives before choosing Debian", settling on it ultimately
because of price and the degree to which it could be customized to meet
Munich's municipal computing needs. The German Foreign Office, as well
as the city of Vienna, also opted to make the switch to Debian in 2005.
Spain
LWN.net maintains that Spain has long been the strongest supporter and
user of Linux from a national government standpoint. Linux has spread
rapidly throughout Spain since 2002, when the government of Extremadura
actually created its own customized Linux distribution (called LinEx)
based on Debian, using GNOME as its "default desktop environment." Since
then, the government "gave away the product CDs at every opportunity --
in government offices, magazines and even daily newspapers" as part of a
determined and ongoing effort to get LinEx out to everybody." By
handing out the software for free and continuing to publicize its
availability, Linux spread from Extremadura throughout the rest of Spain
and remains widely used today.
Federal Aviation Administration
Few government users of Linux appear to be happier with their choice to
switch than the United States Federal Aviation Administration.
According to Wikipedia, the FAA announced in 2006 that it "had completed
a migration to Red Hat Enterprise Linux in one third of the scheduled
time and saved 15 million dollars" in the process of doing so. Score it
another big-time government client for the Red Hat distribution of
Linux.
French Parliament
French Parliament opted in November 2006 to dump Windows in favor of
Ubuntu Linux, according to ZD Net, the move was part of a comprehensive
shake-up in the software run on Parliament computers, resulting
ultimately in "1,154 French parliamentary workstations running on Linux,
with OpenOffice.org productivity software, the Firefox Web browser and
an open-source e-mail client." Despite the training costs, Parliament
officials named cost savings and technological superiority of
open-source software for parliamentary purposes as reasons for the
switch.
State-Owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
According to a 2005 InformationWeek report, the state-owned Industrial
and Commercial Bank of China "decided to roll out Linux in all of its
20,000 retail branches." As the largest bank in all of China, the
institution committed to buying "an unrestricted user license" as part
of a full-blown integration of Linux "throughout its entire banking
operations network" culminating in 2008. At the time, InformationWeek
stated that this represented the largest deployment of Linux to date in
the Chinese financial sector. Essentially, Linux became "the basis for
its web server and a new terminal platform" at the bank.
Pakistani Schools & Colleges
In 2002, the government of Pakistan launched a Technology Resource
Mobilization Unit to promote the spread of open-source software
(including Linux) throughout that country. The unit (comprised of
academics, businesspeople and government officials) has largely
succeeded in educating computer users throughout Pakistan about what
free software has to offer. As a result, Pakistan is using Linux in many
of its public schools and colleges and plans to ultimately run it on
all of its government computer systems. In countries like Pakistan,
where little money is available for government investment in technology,
Linux and other open source software is appealing from a cost
perspective.
Cuba
Cuba, never a fan of capitalism or corporate enterprise, took the step
of developing its own Linux distribution (called "Nova") to replace
Microsoft Windows in February 2009. According to Caribbean Net News, the
switch to Linux was motivated not by technology or cost issues, but
instead constituted "the latest front of the communist island's battle
against what it views as U.S. hegemony." Nova was introduced during a
conference held in the name of "technological sovereignty" and was
touted as essential to Cuba's "desire to replace the Microsoft software
running most of the island's computers." Evidently, Cuban officials
feared that U.S. security agencies could access Microsoft software code
and in the process discover secrets belonging to the Cuban government.
Whether or not Cuba's switch to Linux has any practical effect on
relations between the two countries is debatable, but they have been
using Nova ever since.
Macedonia's Ministry of Education and Science
Ubuntu.com reported in November 2007 that every student in Macedonia
would use computer workstations powered by Ubuntu Linux, as part of that
country's "A Computer For Every Child" program. In total, more than
180,000 workstations were covered by the project, described as "one of
the largest known thin client and desktop Linux deployments ever
undertaken." Indeed, Macedonia's Minister for the Information Society
dubbed it "the largest and most important education project undertaken
in the 15-year history of the Republic of Macedonia." Under the
agreement, 160,000 of the 180,000 workstations were to be virtual PC
terminals, while the other 20,000 were to be stand-alone PCs, all of
which accommodated one student each and ran the Ubuntu Linux OS.
U.S. Postal Service
The U.S. Postal Service is a textbook example of a once-avowed Windows
loyalist switching to Linux for purely technical reasons. While the
Postal Service ran Windows NT on its servers until the bitter end, they
then switched to using over 900 Linux clusters spread throughout the
country for use in sorting the nation's bulk mail. They use technology
from Pacific Northwest Software, who proudly explains in-depth the work
it has done in switching the Postal Service to a Linux-based
infrastructure. Those interested are encouraged to check it out here.
U.S. Federal Courts
AAX.net explains that the U.S. Federal Courts rely on Linux for all
manner of administrative tasks, including "case management, case
tracking, finance and accounting, probation and pretrial services."
Linux has been used by the courts since November of 2003, when PEC
Solutions assisted in orchestrating a "migration of the Federal
Judiciary to a Linux-based system."
Government of Mexico City
Wired.com reported in 2001 that the government of Mexico City had
concluded that "they can no longer justify the ever rising cost of
Microsoft Windows when the cost of Linux software is very low." In an
interview with Wired, the city's technical coordinator, José Barberán,
"announced plans to switch city computers to the Linux operating system
and to use the money it saves to fund social welfare programs." At the
end of the day, when faced with pressure to increase social spending,
"cutting costs by moving to open-source software was a logical choice
for the mayor."
Garden Grove, California
Perhaps the earliest governmental adopter of Linux on our list is
Garden Grove, California, which made the switch all the way back in
1995, according to Linux Journal. Evidently, the city was in a cash
crunch when it opted to give Linux a try, and found that it saved so
much money that they later decided to roll out Linux across the city,
including on some desktop systems.
Largo, Florida
A 2003 Linux.com article entitled "Largo Loves Linux More Than Ever"
explains how the Floridian city came to rely so heavily on Linux
software. After having such great success running city computers on
Linux, Largo's municipal government soon thereafter was "talking about
Linux-based terminals in all the city's police cars." To their credit,
Linux.com remarked that Largo's system administrators (who are
responsible for managing the city's Linux machines) were "the least
harassed, least worried, calmest sysadmins we have ever met." Perhaps
there is a correlation?
Czech Post
Perhaps taking a cue from the U.S. Postal Service, the Czech Republic's
own post office successfully migrated to Linux in 2005, according to
Europa.The chosen distribution of Linux (SuSe) now runs on "4,000
servers at 3,400 post offices across the country, as well as at 12,000
client terminals used by 20,000 employees." Once more, cost was a
driving force behind a large state institution switching from Windows or
other providers to free, open-source Linux.
Educational Users of Linux
Educational institutions, like businesses and government, have
increasingly decided to roll out Linux on servers and desktop computers
for their open-source and cost benefits. These institutions range from
public schools (elementary, middle and high school) to colleges and
post-graduate schools. Below are several of the most prominent
educational establishments to have switched from Microsoft Windows to
Linux.
Russian Schools
In 2007, the nation of Russia announced that all its schools would
begin running Linux software. A BBC report on the matter stated that
Russia's "schools formerly tended to run illegal copies of Microsoft
operating systems", but that since Russia joined the WTO, that is no
longer accepted practice. Therefore, rather than buy licenses for all
the software it had been pirating, it opted to go with the free Linux
operating system. While admitting that most teachers and students had no
experience with Linux, Russia's education officials nevertheless felt
that the transition would go well and that the software would suit the
purposes of schools.
German Universities
ComputerWeekly.com reported in August 2007 that "around 560,000 German
students plus thousands of staff at 33 German universities will now be
supported by Linux systems from Novell." SuSe Linux Enterprise Desktop
was the specific distribution chosen, evidently for the "more flexible
IT architecture" that it provides "when compared to other proprietary
software."
The Philippines
The switch to Linux is said to be "forging an education revolution" in
the Philippines, according to ComputerWorld. As they explain, "after a
successful deployment of 13,000 Fedora Linux systems from a government
grant, plans are underway to roll out another 10,000 based on Ubuntu" in
that country. Apparently, Linux reached popularity because of its lower
installation and maintenance costs in the Philippines in the wake of
1997's Asian financial crisis.
Georgia
Former Soviet state Georgia began "began running all its school
computers and LTSP thin clients on Linux, mainly using Kubuntu, Ubuntu
and stripped Fedora-based distros" back in 2004, according to Wikipedia.
Add Georgia to the growing list of less-wealthy countries that opted to
use Linux for cost reasons versus pay expensive licensing fees for
Microsoft Windows.
The Indian State of Tamil Nadu
LinuxWatch.com told the story of how "after being put off by
Microsoft's bundling tactics for academic users", the Indian state of
Tamil Nadu decided instead to "distribute 100,000 Linux laptops to
students there." The laptops were to be sold to students for $800, a
"considerable markdown compared to retail value." While the government
proposed to license Windows at $12 per copy, Microsoft stood firm at $57
per copy, prompting Tamil Nadu to go with Linux instead.
Switzerland Schools
Wikipedia also reports that Switzerland converted 9,000 of its
computers to using Linux and OpenOffice.org's suite of office
productivity tools in its Geneva district in September, 2008. As has
been seen by the licensing fees other software companies charge, there
is often a compelling financial incentive to use Linux instead.
Bolzano, Italy
The town of Balzano in Italy (with a student population of 16,000)
reportedly switched to using a customized distribution of Linux across
all its schools in 2005.
Kerela, India
Rediff.com reported in September 2006 that from now on, in Kerela,
India, "nearly 1.5 million students in the 2,650 government and
government-aided high schools in the state will no longer use the
Windows platform for computer education. Instead, they have switched
over to the free GNU/Linux software." Rather, they would now begin
running Linux operating systems and accomplishing all word processing
and spreadsheet tasks via OpenOffice.org software. An education official
was quoted as saying ""we have decided that we will use only free
software for computer education in Kerala schools" on the eve of a
56,000 teacher Linux training program.
One Laptop Per Child
The much-publicized One Laptop Per Child program was built around the
OLPC XO-1, which, according to Wikipedia "is an inexpensive laptop
running Linux, which will be distributed to millions of children as part
of the One Laptop Per Child project, especially in developing
countries." Here, again, the low cost of Linux was a major factor in its
inclusion.
Indiana Schools
CRN.com revealed in August 2006 that "more than 20,000 Indiana students
are now Linux-enabled under a state grant program to roll out low-cost,
easy-to-manage workstations." The state's Affordable Classroom
Computers for Every Secondary Student program rapidly grew from "24 high
schools to 80 high schools" after it became clear that software costs
per computer ($100 prior to the migration) could be cut down to $5 using
Linux and other open-source software. Districts get to choose which
distribution of Linux their schools will run and have considerable
control over the implementation.
Business Users of Linux
Businesses, as well as governments, have slowly begun to realize the
various benefits that Linux and open source software can provide. In
fact, given that costs are more important to the decision making of
businesses than governments, they arguably have an even greater
incentive to check it out. Below are several businesses that have made
the switch or begun making the switch from Windows to Linux.
Novell
Longtime software and services company Novell announced in 2006 that it
was undergoing a company-wide migration from Windows to Linux on
employee desktop computers. As of April of that year, roughly half of
Novell's 5,000+ work force had migrated to Linux, with that figure
expected to climb to 80% by November. It was a bold and sweeping change
for such a large, established company, and it took over a year for the
migration to take effect following its announcement in 2006.
Google
Believe it or not, the gigantic, ever-growing cluster of servers that
power Google's search and other apps runs Linux. Of course, in typical
fashion, Google was not content to simply run an out of the box version
on its own hardware. Instead, the search giant had its engineers cook up
a customized version of Ubuntu referred to within the company as
"Goobuntu." Linux is also frequently used internally on desktop
machines, beyond its use on Google servers.
IBM
In addition to doing development work on Linux itself, IBM is known to
use it internally on desktops and servers. IBM also ran a TV ad campaign
in 2006 called "IBM Supports Linux 100%." One of the commercials can be
seen here. In the last decade, perhaps no larger company than IBM has
contributed more to the success of Linux, both financially and
developmentally.
Panasonic
Electronics giant Panasonic is another household name company to use
Linux in powering some of its operations. Like several other firms on
this list, Panasonic used Linux only after Windows NT proved woefully
inadequate for what the company needed - voicemail systems, in this
case. Rather than paying NT's expensive license fees, Panasonic's
in-house developers created their own system incorporating Linux-based
voicemail technology. Ultimately, the system they created was so
successful that it grew to replace the Windows system completely, which
has since been long discontinued.
Virgin America
Virgin America, a low-cost U.S. airline run by entrepreneurial big-shot
Richard Branson, uses Linux to power its in-flight entertainment
according to TechCrunch. The entertainment system (called RED) is
powered by Red Hat and Fedora specifically, and was reportedly chosen
because it is "very stable and agile." After four years of development,
RED hit the airways as a rousing success.
Cisco
Cisco Systems, the computer networking and routing giant, switched to
Linux after vowing to use Microsoft's Active Directory solution for its
servers." Indeed, the deal was so celebrated that Cisco management
dubbed them to be an "all Microsoft" company according to AAX.net. In an
infamous turn of events, however, Cisco's own IT staff could not get
its network printing to work properly using Windows NT and were thus
forced to switch to Linux, which has yet to cause similar problems to
our knowledge.
ConocoPhillips
Never let it be said that Linux is a fringe operating system for
inconsequential gizmos and gadgets. No stronger proof to the contrary
exists that ConocoPhillips, which proudly uses Linux to power a massive
(and massively important) cluster of servers aimed at exploring the
earth for new sources of untapped oil. C-Net's News.com reported in
depth on the machine, which, largely due to using Linux, reportedly
"costs a tenth of the average price of a conventional supercomputer."
Alan Huffman, then manager of Conoco's seismic imaging technology
center, claimed that the machine was capable of performing 500 billion
calculations in a second.
Omaha Steaks
Omaha Steaks, a popular catalogue-oriented steak retailer, switched to
open-source Linux in 2001, according to JavaWorld.com. While they had
previously been running internally with IBM AS/400 computers, they now
operate a cluster of Linux serves in-house that both runs its corporate
website and is connected to the AS/400 system. JavaWorld explains
in-depth how migrating to Linux at the server level helped Omaha Steaks
expand the wildly popular gift aspect of its business by integrating
consumer information and lowering costs. Advertisements for this mail
order company can be found in the back of most up-scale home oriented
magazines. They were running their internal systems on an IBM AS/400 and
outsourced their Web site, but they wanted to tie the on-line ordering
directly into the AS/400. A cluster of Linux servers now runs the Web
site and connects to the AS/400.
Amazon
Online book and electronics retail behemoth Amazon.com is said to "use
Linux in nearly every corner of its business", according to ZD Net.
After Amazon "began to use Linux in 2000 for basic tasks", Linux began
spreading through the company "notably the company's database" system. A
separate ZD Net post in 2001 referenced a document Amazon filed with
the Securities & Exchange Commission stating that switching to Linux
had saved the company $17 million. By 2004, it was reported that Amazon
"had nine worldwide distribution centers with a total of 4.2 million
square feet" and that essentially "everything that happens in them is
driven by Linux.
Peugeot
European car maker Peugeot announced in 2007 that it was set to deploy
up to 20,000 copies of Novell Desktop Linux and 2,500 copies of SuSe
Linux Enterprise Server. eWeek reported that "unlike recent Novell Linux
deals that were released with a great deal of fanfare, such as Novell's
recent sale, via Microsoft, to Wal-Mart, this deal appears to have been
made solely on the Linux desktops own merits." IT representatives from
Peugeot remarked that they were pleased to discover how well supported
and user-friendly Linux was upon checking it out.
Wikipedia
Popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia is another staunch supporter of
Linux, having switched to Ubunto in 2008 after a lengthy tenure using
Red Hat and Fedora prior to that. Ars Technica explains that
"Wikimedia's move to Ubuntu is part of an effort to simplify
administration of the organization's 400 servers" and that the switch
"could help increase the distribution's visibility in the Linux server
market and demonstrate its viability in large-scale deployments." It was
no small gig for Ubuntu, which now powers the servers that spit out up
to 10 billion page views a month on Wikipedia.
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is another perhaps unexpected business user
of Linux. A ComputerWorld.com report on how London's stock exchange was
also "abandoning the failed Windows platform", it was stated that New
York's exchange already used Linux to power its trading platform and
furthermore that it "seems to be doing quite nicely." InformationWeek
revealed in 2008 that it was Red Hat Enterprise Linux, specifically,
that the NYSE ran on its trading platform.
Burlington Coat Factory
Burlington Coat Factory, a retailer with 280 individual stores across
42 states, run Linux in their distribution centers and "a few new
stores", according to AAXNet.com. A full-fledged roll-out to all
existing stores is underway, and 1,250 Dell computers with Linux
pre-installed were evidently purchased "to support the effort" at
transitioning fully from Microsoft Windows to Linux.
Raymour and Flannigan
NetworkComputing.com describes Raymour and Flannigan's transition to
Linux as "a major transformation" for the Syracuse-based furniture
retailer, who switched all its servers to Linux back in 2002. According
to company management, "it was easier to put Linux, rather than another
operating system, on the older 486-based machines" that were available
early on at Raymour and Flannigan. While Linux requires some manual
configuration, NetworkComputing says, the benefits have largely
outweighed the costs.
Tommy Hilfiger
LinuxJournal.com wrote that fashion magnate Tommy Hilfiger "chose
eOneGroup and Linux for its new e-business infrastructure" way back in
2001. Company representatives were quoted as saying that "we saved
significantly on the time and expense of deploying this total
infrastructure", as opposed to if another operating system provider had
been chosen.
Toyota Motor Sales
AAX.Net reported years ago on a "30 dealer pilot roll-out" of a system
using Linux to connect car dealerships to Toyota's factories. The system
was a "web based system from the ground up, and will be handling 30
different functions including parts ordering, warranties, sales
transactions and repairs." As the 30 dealer pilot was successful, Toyota
promptly announced plans to roll out the Linux-based system to 1,200
other dealerships.
Travelocity
Travelocity (funny gnome guy and all) is yet another Internet business
powered by Linux servers. According to NetworkWorld, Travelocity
management cited their desire "to improve our flexibility and really
decrease our time to market" as the chief reasons for choosing Linux
over other alternatives. Management at Travelocity also admits to being
"big fans of open source, from total cost of ownership and from the
sharing/collaboration [creation processes], using tools developed by
other people and having [easy access] to other people who have
experience with them."
Home & Scientific Uses of Linux
Finally, Linux has also found homes in various home and scientific
capacities. From video game systems to science labs, Linux is playing an
even bigger role in consumer technology. Below are several noteworthy
examples.
Sony Playstation 3
While Linux is not pre-installed on the PS3, it was designed to allow
easy installation of it and Gamespot revealed in 2006 that "Terra Soft
Solutions is now making Yellow Dog Linux 5.0 available for download for
the PS3." Installing it requires a keyboard, USB cord and mouse, and for
the user to "partition the PS3's drive into two partitions so that the
GameOS and Linux can run on dual partitions."
Netbooks
Miniature laptops called Netbooks have become extremely popular in
recent years, and often ship with minimalist distributions like Xandros
or Linpus that are optimized to run efficiently using the limited
resources Netbooks must use due to space and cost constraints.While
Netbooks are still frequently sold with Microsoft Windows installed,
they are shipped with Linux more than perhaps any other mass-market
laptop around.
Some Dell Models
In recent years (particularly 2007-2008) distributions of Linux like
Ubuntu have placed a higher than ever priority on user friendliness in
efforts to capture some of the Windows market. Consequently, Dell and
other mass-market PC manufacturers have taken to pre-loading Ubuntu and
other distributions on their computers.
CERN
Cern uses Scientific Linux on a massive scale for mission-critical
applications. FreeSoftwareMagazine, for instance, notes that Linux is
powering the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider, a machine designed to do
important subatomic research. CERN, it should also be noted, is where
Tim Berners-Lee invented the hypertext link while working there in the
80's as an independent contractor. CERN also runs Linux on its 20,000
internal servers.
Internet Archive
Anyone who has ever used the Wayback Machine to peer at the past of a
website has unwittingly been served information by a throng of x86
servers running Linux -- hundreds of them, in fact.
ASV Roboat
LinuxProMagazine.com reports that the ASV Roboat, a research craft
designed to glean data about "the Pacific whale population in
cooperation with the marine biology department of the Oregon State
University", is apparently powered by Linux software. It is a
considerable test of Linux's technological capabilities, as the craft is
charged with "researching large geographic areas over long periods of
time at low cost." The ASV Roboat can be seen in the video posted above.
IBM iDataPlex in Canada
Canada's largest supercomputer, the IBM iDataPlex (housed at the
University of Toronto) is also powered by Linux. According to the
Canadian Globe and Mail, the massive machine cost "$50-million to put
together, and its brain takes up as much room as a warehouse full of
refrigerators." Its tasks are many and demanding, including running
"more than 300 trillion calculations a second, simulating the Earth's
climate 100 years into the future in four days and helping researchers
study cosmic background radiation.".
