After Early Surge, Adoption of Linux For Retail Point-of-Sale Apps Slows.

The article presents information related to the marketing of Linux operating systems. According to Greg Buzek, president of IHL Consulting Group Inc. in Franklin, Tennessee, Linux's share of the retail point-of-sale (POS) market is nearing 10%. But, due to Microsoft Corp.'s introduction to a scaled-down version of Windows, the rate of the open-source operating system's gains is slowing. But other analysts and some IT managers believe that after attracting some early adopters, it now has to win over retailers that have invested heavily in Windows technology and Microsoft training for their IT staffers. Mike Prince, ClO at Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., has been running Linux since 2000 on the 362-store clothing chain. Linux has been chosen for its stability, ease of remote administration and similarity to Unix. Gordon Haff, an analyst at Illuminata Inc. in Nashua, New Hampshire, noted that many retailers look at the availability of POS applications and equipment, where Windows still has an advantage over Linux, more than they consider the merits of the operating system itself.