I'D like to start by asking you a series of seemingly unrelated questions. Have you watched Shrek or Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone? Have you flown on Continental, Virgin America or Singapore Airlines? Do you drive a BMW, Fiat or Renault car? Are you serving in the United States Army? Have you ever bought anything online using Paypal? Have you ever stayed in a Sheraton hotel? Or travelled by train in Canada?

Unless you're a self-confessed geek like me, you probably don't care how all these things, and many more, are created, run or maintained. You just want to know that your car will start, your movie will play in synch with the sound, your hotel room is ready and your flight or train will arrive on time. That's perfectly understandable, but here's the thing.

One of the main reasons that all of those things happen, allowing you to go about your daily lives without a care in the world, is... Linux. Yes, Linux, that arcane computer operating system so beloved of beardy, bespectacled types. Let's examine my assertion in greater detail.

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