This sounds totally ridiculous now, but at the time there was a lot of hype about Linux / open source, a sense/possibility that it could overcome microsoft/sun/ibm/hp etc, some big IPOs like VA Linux Systems. Keep in mind that IE was a second-rate browser then, no chrome or serious rivals to Netscape/Mozilla at the time.

Looking back, it was a bit reminiscent of the bitcoin / ai bubbles, where every company desperately rushes to jump on the bandwagon.