Uses for a linux server on the internet
 

If I were to lease a linux server on from a hosting company could someone among you give me a list of possible current uses/applications that would earn money these days? and if not suggest a book that would help me on this topic? or a link

Linux is a tool. A hammer doesn't make money. But you can use it along with many other tools and supplies to make a table that could fetch thousands of dollars. Or you could beat someone with it and be evicted from society for aggravated assault and battery.

What can I build with linux that would earn me money then?

You could write a program that runs on linux that precisely controls physical apparati and raw material to make a table. Ie, just about anything, inspiration and perspiration.

Think like an entrepreneur, ignore linux for the moment. What do people want? What needs can you fulfill? Then think about how you fulfill it. If part of the fulfilling requires a computer and an operating system, you can think about how linux could help out. You could then ask specifically "how can i do x with linux".

Example:

Why do people surf the web? The answer some of the time for many people is: porn. You could fulfill that desire by creating a porn file server. You could make money off of it by charging for access. Replace porn with whatever content you think people will pay for.

You can't start out with the sole goal to "make money." You are only revealing your inexperience.

If "making money" was a business plan, we wouldn't be in a recession. Making money has to be an effect, not a cause. The cause must be creating and distributing something people want.

So you need to ask yourself if you have any ideas that people might pay for. A worthwhile idea needs to be the center of your attention, not the outcome. You must sincerely believe you have something that people want, and be willing to work hard to prepare it and offer it on the Web.

So far, you sincerely want to have more money than you have at the moment. That isn't good enough.

Also -- even if this wasn't brainlessly predatory, you are asking advice from a bunch of people most of whom would create a Website of their own if they had something valuable to offer. So why would they tell you how to do the same thing with their ideas?

Bottom line: you need life experience.