This entire view misses the(!) one most important component of Unix's (and Linux's) success, they were first. There was NO credible competition. The same thing can be said for Apache and BIND and many other apps. It isn't that they were the best, they were simply the first - and get to reap market inertia as a result. However, and it's a doozy, this won't last. As the Open Source market expands and takes over pretty much completely you'll see this dominance begin to decrease. Why? Because of the component nature of the software. On Wed, 24 Oct 2001, Karsten M. Self wrote: [Long standard history of Unix deleted] -- ____________________________________________________________________ The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion. Edmund Burke (1784) The Armadillo Group ,::////;::-. James Choate Austin, Tx /:'///// ``::>/|/ ravage@ssz.com www.ssz.com .', |||| `/( e\ 512-451-7087 -====~~mm-'`-```-mm --'- --------------------------------------------------------------------