Operating systems and other "large blocks" of software will one day be free as a matter of course, Linux technical lead Linus Torvalds predicted.

In an address here at Internet World '99, the inventor of Linux took a dig at a couple of open-source wannabes as he predicted major changes in the way software is sold.

Based on Red Hat Software's Linux distribution, the $99 packages install on any Intel-compatible PC in as little as 15 minutes.

Linux may soon be coming to a sub-compact computer of your choice. Linux kernel developer Linus Torvalds told a crowd of Linux faithful that the "Win(dows)-CE crowd" is certainly going to be able to use Linux in the not-too-distant future.

An advocate will promote Linux by helping a newbie, sharing his experiences, or contributing to the open-source software movement. A zealot promotes Linux by shouting "LINUX FOREVER!!" and putting down other operating systems, and users of those operating systems.

"We're basically the EBay of Linux technical support," says Gonzalez founder and CEO of Boston-based Question Exchange.

Microsoft has put up a new page to convice people that why NT is better than Linux. Any takers?

VMWare, from a California company, lets you run the entire Windows operating system inside a window on your Linux PC.

Entera, Inc, a developer of Internet Content Delivery Systems, unveiled its new Real-Time Streaming Protocol/Real-Time Protocol server for Apple's QuickTime 4, technology using the Linux platform.

Hewlett-Packard has announced the availability of their strategic business messaging product, OpenMail, for the increasingly popular Linux platform.