Where Linux Crushes Windows Like A Bug: Supercomputers

Summary: Linux is tiny on desktops, powerful on servers, mighty on Web servers, and rules over all on supercomputers.

The faster a computer goes, the more likely is to have Linux at its heart. The most recent Top500 list of supercomputers shows that, if anything, Linux is becoming even more popular at computing's high end.

In the latest Top500 Supercomputer list, you'll find when you dig into the supercomputer statistics that Linux runs 457 of the world's fastest computers. That's 91.4%. Linux is followed by Unix, with 30 or 6%; mixed operating systems with 11 supercomputers, 2.2%. In the back of the line, you'll find OpenSolaris and BSD with 1 computer and--oh me, oh my--Windows also with just 1 supercomputer to its credit. That's a drop from 4 in the last supercomputer round up in June.