In my last Linux & Open Source newsletter, I'd like to thank the tens of thousands of subscribers who have read loyally over the last eight years.

It was a thrill to cover this market as it built critical mass during the dot-com era, through the post-bubble downturn and now into a new era of virtualization, desktop rejuvenation and data center dominance. The first Network World Fusion Focus on Linux reflected the open, free nature of the market, with a look at how to turn a Linux box into a router. Subsequent topics ranged from outrageous Linux company IPOs in the late 1990s, IBM's dramatic bet on Linux as a strategic platform in the early 2000s, and the emergence of Linux into every conceivable hardware platform — servers, PCs, mainframes, midranges, cell phones, wristwatches, routers, TiVOs and animatronic fish. We also had some fun with SCO along the way.

That's not to say the exciting trends in Linux and open source are all in the rearview mirror. Microsoft vs. the open-source world will be a crucial development for enterprise IT administrators to watch. The developments in the upcoming GNU Public License Version 3 will also be interesting to watch. And expect Linux distributors Red Hat, Novell, Ubuntu, Gentoo and others to continue pushing the envelope in Linux server scalability and virtualization, as well as desktop enhancements.

You will be able to follow all of these developments via the Linux & Open Source News Alert newsletter by LinuxWorld Editor Don Marti (starting Friday, July 6). Don has been a veteran of the Linux technology and journalism communities longer than this newsletter has been around.