In 1991 Linus Torvalds released the first Linux kernel.
20 years later millions of desktop and server computers worldwide run open source operating system (see interview with Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux foundation). Without Linus, and the GNU project by Richard_Stallman, such computers may now process information far slower and less efficiently.
Recently, the apparent challenge that open source technology posed to the studies of intellectual property has been reconciled by documenting the following insights:
1) competition in the open source industry works similarly to any other market as ownership is limited to the product rather than to the general idea;2) Open source software is a similar institution to a "local anti-trust" in the market for operating systems.
This may challenge Schumpeterian entrepreneurs and antitrust authorities, who after some pondering perhaps, will join me in wishing Linux Happy birthday!
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