From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
Community icon by Alpár-Etele Méder, licensed under CC BY 3.0
I found this ad from Personal Computer World (UK) in 1985. I think we all like their moto! Has anyone heard of this company? They don't seem to be still around from an internet search I did. But people who worked there may have had an interesting career (hopefully!)
You can do both though. Lots of high-profile software is both open source and available as SaaS.
The beauty of that strategy is you can ensure the software will survive your service provider going bankrupt or otherwise suddenly disappearing, leaving you without a solution.
By not being locked into a specific vendor, competition will be centered around providing the best service, which is in my opinion exactly as it should be.