Ubiquitous Linux, It's Everywhere
Sometimes I’m sitting here, trying to come up with something to write and I’m coming up dry. It’s not because there’s nothing going on with Linux. Quite the contrary. Linux is always moving, changing. It’s hard to believe just how ubiquitous Linux is. It’s literally everywhere.
The Obvious
Of course, there’s the obvious places you can find Linux. Android phones, the Internet, and of course super computers. Linux has long dominated those markets, and everybody is pretty much aware of that fact.
The Not So Obvious
Some of the other areas that you can find Linux are pretty amazing. Just check out some of these:
- Japanese high speed rails.
- San Francisco High-tech traffic control systems.
- Toyota In-Vehicle-Infotainment and communications systems.
- DeLaval robotic cow milking systems.
- The New York Stock Exchange.
- CERN’s particle accelerator.
- Air Traffic Control systems nation wide.
- United States nuclear submarines.
- DVR devices.
- French Parliament.
- Commercial Bank of China.
- The U.S. Postal Service.
- Virgin America
- etc….
Seriously, the list goes on and on. In a world that’s literally so full of Linux, it seems weird that it would be hard to think of something to write about. About the only place that Linux isn’t so ubiquitous is the desktop computer.
Of course this is why those who don’t have the facts seem to think that no one uses Linux, or that Linux is difficult to use. For those of us that do have the facts, it’s obvious that Windows and OSX are used by a small fraction of the number of users that use Linux on a daily basis.
Can you imagine what this world would be without Linux? It certainly wouldn’t be the world that we know. I guess it would be more like the 80s instead of the 21st century. Maybe Microsoft would have more power over us than they do now? Scary thought, air traffic control powered by Windows. Gives the term “crash” a whole new meaning, or maybe it keeps the old one. Either way, I think if Windows were managing air traffic control, I’d fly less.
I guess I don’t have a lot more to say, but just keep this in mind. Next time someone tells you that no one uses Linux, you should tell them how ubiquitous Linux really is.
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