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Not while the source is open...Not while the source is open...Posted Mar 1, 2006 10:13 UTC (Wed) by trithemius (guest, #18658)Parent article: Linux fragmenting at last?
Comparing the Linux world to the old UNIX world falls down in one major area: Licensing. The old UNIX world saw companies jealously hoarding their expertise and sources. Even if someone wanted to try to pull a best-of-breed system, they simply couldn't. If a customer was happy on a version of the software they were still forced to upgrade when support for their version was dropped (even if they were willing to buy a support contract!)
Contrast that with the Linux world where no matter what a vendor does with any major part of their system is an open book to everyone - customers and competitors alike. You like something a 'competing' distro patched into their kernel? Apply the same patch. A desktop competitor you secretly admire pulled an architectural trick that makes you envious, and you can crawl their system to your heart's content - imitation being the sincerest form of flattery. Don't want to be stuck paying $$ for upgrades for systems that are work damn fine and don't want to be changed? Plenty of people are willing to support what is transparent - for the right price of course.
No matter what idealogical direction you're coming to the party from, the bottom line is the same: The walls that were built in the UNIX world cannot be built here.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
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