Linux - a disruptive technology?
It is sometimes said that Linux is a disruptive technology - one that appears from nowhere, usually emerges as a cheap alternative to the dominant technology, and upsets and ultimately replaces the current way of doing things. Classic examples of disruptive technologies are the Intel 8086 chip and the World Wide Web, both of which, like Linux and free software, were initially dismissed as commercially impractical, and both of which ultimately transformed the market place.
The web began as a relatively primitive technology that had little appeal beyond its academic beginnings, and few of the sophistications of the prevailing proprietary networks of its time, but was gradually adopted by a wider audience and was given added value as a result. The Intel chip and its associated PC architecture had humble beginnings as a platform for hobbyists but grew to be the dominant force behind desktop computing.
Linux itself does not represent any great departures from previous technologies, but has led a technological revolution that is predicated on free software licensing. The disruptive technology is the license and its distinctive inversion of copyright law.
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