> [lots of more good stuff here], I wonder what people think is the
> direction Linux will take from here, and what challenges it should be
> prepared to face that it currently isn't. Comments anyone?
Challenges? Two issues that pop into mind are fragmentation and
commercial pressures.
Take an example of commercial pressures. I was sort of relieved to read
some of the kernel discussions on new kernels breaking StarOffice. The
developers took the view that SO was doing something stupid, they fixed a
bug which broke SO, and so therefore it was SO's problem for doing
something stupid and not their problem for fixing the bug.
Despite my liking that idea and attitude, imagine it a couple of years
from now. Let's say SO, for an example, is as widely used on GNU/Linux as
is MSOffice on Windows. Let's say that GNU/Linux is big -- really big.
Would those same developers be able to take such a technically correct
position? Would GNU/Linux be forced into compromises for backward
compatability like Windows is today?
On the issue of fragmentation, I think that's already happening today.
Distributions are growing slowly apart. For distros to distinguish
themselves, they have to be different. I fear this is going to result in
fragmentation along the lines of Unix. Sure, techies will be able to
navigate the differences, but end-users are going to throw their hands up
at such a marketplace mess.
This isn't primarily aimed at fragmentation at the user interface; the
differences between GNOME and KDE are fairly trivial. I'm talking more
about administration approaches, file system layouts, and overall config
file differences. We need standards here to enable relatively new users to
migrate between a SuSE, Red Hat, Debian, Caldera, etc., system without
becoming a GNU/Linux pro.
--
"If the current stylistic distinctions between open-source and commercial
software persist, an open-software revolution could lead to yet another
divide between haves and have-nots: those with the skills and connections
to make use of free software, and those who must pay high prices for
increasingly dated commercial offerings." -- Scientific American
**********************************************************
To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to
[EMAIL PROTECTED] with the following text in the
*body* (*not* the subject line) of the letter:
unsubscribe gnhlug
**********************************************************
