If you have used Linux even a little, you will have learned that the compiler is a central tool. Its how open source software gets built. If you use Linux for even a little while, you will sooner or later wind up downloading and extracting a tarball, and compiling the code inside to build an application. And, as many will know, the compiler of choice is always GCC.

Intel are now seeking to change that, offering up their own compiler as well. Red Flag Linux, a prominent Linux seller in China, is building its version of the open-source operating system using Intel's compiler. And Novell is shipping Intel's compiler as an option for development tools in its latest Linux.