Linux is 20 today, give or take.

Actually, it's the 20th anniversary of the announcement of Linux. It was, by then, about three to four months old - but existed only on Linus Torvald's hard disk.

What if that hard disk had died?

Personally, if Linux didn't exist, I'd still be struggling with the mess that is Windows. Or I'd have switched to the Mac already.

But away from my desktop and netbook, the Linux kernel is also running on my MP3 player. My phone. My ebook reader. My NAS box. And those are just the current devices that I know about.

A decade ago, people were predicting "the year of Linux on the desktop". Now, the desktop is closer than back then.

But Linux didn't limit itself to the desktop. Like it or not, you probably depend on Linux somewhere in your life.

Like? Actually, liking it is irrelevant.

It's now ubiquitous. Know it or not, you probably depend on Linux somewhere in your life.

Happy birthday Linux. Here's to a long and fruitful future.