A new computing operating system could bring information to places that have found it difficult to connect to the world of electronic communications. The system works on low-end computers, can operate many software applications, and best of all is free.

The Linux Revolution?

Imagine a computer operating system, developed by some of the world's leading computer experts, that is reliable, flexible--and free. Well, it exists and it's here to stay. Known as Linux, this Unix-type system was developed during this decade by the Finnish computer expert Linus Torvalds.

Access and cost (or, more precisely, no cost) are what make Linux so attractive.

First, Linux is designed to operate on standard Intel-based PCs, which now represent more than 90 percent of the personal computer market worldwide. Second, Linux is made available free-of-charge. All you have to do is download it into your computer.

Moreover, this is one case in which free is better because Linux software undergoes continuous improvements through the ongoing work of groups worldwide who devise, test and introduce upgrades--all free-of-charge. It's like having a research and development centre in every corner of the Earth. Anyone, in fact, can contribute to the debugging and advancement of the system itself, as well as to the development of related applications.

As a result, while Torvalds has been busy optimising the operating system's so-called 'kernel' or 'heart,' groups in Mexico and Germany have been designing user-friendly desktop environments for its applications.

Such contributions have exciting implications for developing countries. Thanks to Linux, scientists throughout the South can now contribute to the latest advances in system-operating software. Because access is free and because upgrades can be developed on affordable 386 and 486 processors, no one needs to be excluded from the effort. Talent in computer software development is the only prerequisite.

It's not surprising, then, that ICTP is enjoying the 'Linux experience.' Linux, for example, is now the operating system driving all the Centre's PC workstations. And recently, a cluster of 20 PCs, with Linux inside, have been connected for low-cost parallel processing.

"We were and remain at the forefront of a trend that has become increasingly popular during the past 12 months," says Alvise Nobile, Head of ICTP Scientific Computing Section, who explains that strapping Linux-platform PCs together is bringing enormous computing power to ICTP. In fact, continues Nobile, "two similar clusters in the United States--one in Los Alamos National Laboratory, the other in Sandia National Laboratory--rank among the 100 most powerful computers in the world." And when it comes to networking, the system has become the globe's most common web-server platform--all in just a few short years.

Spurred by Catharinus Verkerk, Linux first came to ICTP in 1994 via the Microprocessor Laboratory as the software used at a Trieste-based 'college' on real-time systems and then at a 'regional college' held in 1995 in Cape Coast, Ghana. Experts at ICTP Scientific Computing Section soon configured Linux for use as ICTP's standard PC operating system. One year later, ICTP launched a programme for training and system development on networking that relies on Linux to improve electronic communications in the developing world, especially sub-Saharan Africa.

"The advantages of Linux software and standard radiocommunications are being put to work for the creation of local area networks and eventually global connectivity, initially in Nigeria, and later in Ghana and other countries in the African continent," explains Sandro Radicella, who is involved in this programme. "Several faculties at Nigeria's Obafemi Awolowo University," Radicella notes, "are connected both to each other and the internet, as a result of ICTP's efforts and the Linux revolution." (See "Memorandum Signed".)

The network consists of Linux-driven PCs, which function as servers that provide university faculty and other local users with e-mail and access to other electronic-based information, including the internet.

Linux was chosen for all the reasons that its proponents had in mind when designing and then upgrading the system: the software is compatible with the modest computers found among university faculty and administrators; thanks to the work of Linux 'groupies' around the world, the system drives a host of software applications from accounting to word processing; and, most importantly, the 'sharing philosophy' that has propelled the system's development and growth means that it costs virtually nothing to operate.

ICTP's success in Nigeria has received worldwide acclaim, most notably through an article about the project in last December's Linux Journal. (That's right, the system has become so popular that it now has a journal bearing its name, a competitive publication cousin of PC World and Mac World.)

Readers' response to the Linux Journal article bodes well for the direction that the Centre is encouraging its partners to take when it comes to electronic communications. Here's what some had to say.

Michigan, USA: "We love Linuxkeep up the good work, and keep those students learning." Nepal: "I am a Linux enthusiast operating an internet service provider business; only wireless data communications is feasible in the mountainous terrain." Washington, D.C.: "I am very envious of your success in Nigeria."

The success of Linux has also aroused a great deal of commercial interest, which seems to be growing even stronger as the system draws an increasing number of users into its ranks. Recognising Linux's low-cost and powerful computing solutions, its excellence in supporting databases, and its obvious value to users (which could be turned into profits), it should come as no surprise that some of the biggest and best known computer and software houses around the world are keen to get into the act.

Sun, for example, is making its Linux-based code available; Hewlett Packard is researching the system; Intel and Netscape are investing in the commercial distribution of Linux; and Sega is using the software for its videogames. Linux was the electronic force behind the special digital effects in the film Titanic. And most recently, Stanford University in the United States has developed a server, run by a stripped-down version of Linux, that is the size of a matchbox. It's currently little more than a novelty item but future applications, as yet undiscovered, may be on the horizon.

With so many heavy hitters lined up to take advantage of Linux, there's little doubt that the system's full potential has a good chance of being realised. Little wonder one of Bill Gates' engineers warned last November that "Linux is a direct and short-term threat to the Microsoft revenue and platform."

No one is about to feel sorry for Microsoft if and when it begins to feel the heat of competition from Linux. Indeed, in the spirit of its creators and growing number of enthusiasts, the Linux operating system is not intended to be a tool used to gain a competitive edge. In fact, the opposite is true. Easy accessibility and cost-free application are designed to make the system available to everyone--rich and poor, North and South.

ICTP hopes to take every advantage of this revolution, not only to improve electronic communications on its campus in Trieste, but to lend a helping hand to universities and research centres in the developing world that have found it difficult to keep pace with endless advances taking place in electronic communications over the past two decades.

After watching events unfold from afar for many years, it may be no exaggeration to say that the information revolution has finally arrived at the South's doorsteps.

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