[Tfug] "Linux is a forking mess."

[Robert Hunter]

On 7/19/07, Angus Scott-Fleming <angussf at geoapps.com> wrote:
> Small Biz Resource - Too Many Linux Distros Makes For Open-Source Mess
- Small
> Business Business Analysis
>
> Final paragraph says it all:
>     "Linux is a forking mess."
> http://www.smallbizresource.com/document.asp?doc_id=129421

What a crock of FUD.

This guy doesn't mention that many of the desktop/server distributions
are related, and in these cases there is little or no "re-tooling"
necessary for an IT staff to support, for example: 1) Redhat, Fedora,
Centos, or 2) Debian, Ubuntu.  Any competent IT staff should be able to
support all five of these distributions.

Also lacking in his analysis is any mention about the "evolutionary"
aspect of OSS projects -- that a large number of competing Linux distros
is a actually a Good Thing, both for consumers and developers.  Consumers
have more choices, and developers have more opportunities,

And finally:  Yes, while there are indeed dozens of distributions, there
are also dozens of application domains, e.g., servers, desktop, embedded,
etc.  Lumping all of these OS distributions together under the term
"Linux" is a case of polymorphism, and not a general statement about the
lack of standardization of Linux-based operating systems.

PS. Just how many different versions of Windows exist?

-- 
Rob