Linux loot

“HOW much are you worth, son?” asked one user of Slashdot.org, a popular online hang-out for programmers. Commented another: “I can't believe anyone would buy at that price.” Astonishment was the prevailing mood among hackers after Wall Street was stormed on December 9th by VA Linux, a firm selling computers that run Linux, a popular operating system developed by volunteers. On its first day of trading, the company's shares gained almost 700%—the biggest increase of any initial public offering (IPO) ever. Early this week, the Silicon Valley start-up, with only $17.7m in revenues, losses of $14.5m and 153 employees, was worth almost $10 billion, almost two-thirds as much as Apple, though the share price has since fallen somewhat.