(October 4, 2004) — There are always different sides to one story due to differing human interpretation. Take, for example, the fall of the Romans. Some historians believe that Christianity was the demise of Rome because religious leaders took away some control from the emperor. Many believe that economic distress within the empire caused it to collapse. Others even blame lead poisoning to the fall of Rome. In more recent times, Bill Gates has been running an empire of his own: the Microsoft Empire. Years, or even decades, from now, will economic historians be blaming the slow, yet consistent, rise of Linux as one of the reasons for the downfall of the Microsoft Empire? Linux is an open-source operating system created 13 years ago by Linus Torvalds in his dorm room in Finland. It’s open-source because the source code that enables the program to run is public domain and, contrary to Microsoft business practices, is encouraged to be passed around from programmer to programmer. Recently, Linux has been used behind the scenes running corporate America’s web servers and databases. According to Technology Review, 67% of web servers are run by Linux. The search engine Google, for example, uses Linux-powered databases to assist web surfers on a daily basis. “I’ve used Linux before. It’s really affordable but it still can’t compete in performance,” said senior Eric Delgado. Even though Linux has been subtly affecting our lives for years, it hasn’t been directly, or intimately, connected with consumers. This is because Linux hasn’t made a gigantic commotion in the desktop arena, where most human interaction with their oversized calculator takes place. Even though Linux has been available to the public for years now, it has never really gotten that much recognition, because users are afraid of foreign software and incompatibilities with everyday programs. That is slowly starting to change. For years people could have downloaded the different kinds of Linux operating systems, such as Red Hat, onto their PC. These operating systems and other Linux software function and resemble Windows, so users would be using something familiar to them. Linux based machines are now going mainstream. Now selling at Walmart.com is the Microtel SYSWM7003, selling for $278. This is the cheapest out of the Linux-based products from Walmart. It comes with an AMD 1.6 GHz Duron processor, 128 MB DDR memory, 40 gigabyte hard drive, CD-ROM drive and no Microsoft software whatsoever. Lindows OS 4.5 is the operating system for this machine. Buyers can go online and download Open Office, which does the majority of things Microsoft Office does, without costing the heavy price tag. This mainstream sale of open-source machines is the opening of the flood gates to a potential changing-of-the-guards. Naturally, Microsoft won’t let any competitor, large or small, share a piece of the throne it has held for such a long time. They have lowered prices and even have let some of their source code out into the public. In other parts of the world, where people have turned to Linux because they couldn’t afford Windows, Microsoft is drastically lowering prices. According to Technology Review, Windows XP is being sold for $37 in Thailand.