Choices, choices...

Choices, choices...

Posted Feb 28, 2006 20:34 UTC (Tue) by mrshiny (subscriber, #4266)
In reply to: Choices, choices... by freeio
Parent article: Linux fragmenting at last?

It's true that we have a choice, but then, users often had the choice to switch to a different version of Unix in the past. The only read advantage that a fragmented Linux has over a fragmented Unix is that the various Linux fragments will work with the hardware you have, whereas changing Unixes often implies changing hardware.

But choice is often illusory as well: Users have a choice of Windows or Linux (or whatever), but often the choice isn't a true choice since there is something that locks a user into a particular system. For example, a company may widely deploy RedHat or Suse, then get "locked" into that system by inertia caused by accumulated staff experience and management tools. So it's not always easy or even possible to switch to a different distro without incurring a high cost.

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