LK2008: The values of the Linux community

Apple is an exception, precisely because it is entirely its own ecosystem. For companies operating
in a larger ecosystem there is much value to be had in open standards and a common platform that
is a commodity. This is achieved by the fact that the GPL removes the possibility of forking off
branches and then closing them off. One of its great strenghts is that branches can by and large
only contribute to the original software (by moving code between branches), and never take away.
The community matters a great deal, but I think the license choice is a huge factor as well in the
success of Linux in the market. It garantuees a level playing field and it helps in making the
platform a commodity. I do no think the license and the community are independent variables.