Fragmentation on the Linux Desktop (Is it Normal?) (Datamation)

Seriously, though, people need to stop obsessing over "fragmentation" in the open source world. Most infrastructure projects are natural monopolies or oligopolies where a small number of competitors quickly become entrenched, and nobody has the resources or motivation to build something different. On the other hand, in the cases where there are lots of options, it's usually because each of those options offers something different that different groups of people actually want.

For example, you could imagine writing a different version control system than git, or a different web browser library than WebKit, but would it really be worth your time? Once a project gets big enough, the natural laziness of programmers prevents other alternatives from arising unless there's a real need for them. Do we really need to stay awake at night obsessing over the possibility of someone writing another competitor to RPM?

Having two different choices is a small price to pay for motivating people to actually make their project competitive. That is why the U.S. has a two-party system, after all.

In the cases where there are lots of choices, it's usually because users have different opinions about what they want. For example, I've seen lots of posts on this site praising GNOME3, lots of posts praising Xfce, and lots of posts praising KDE. These projects all have different philosophies, and clearly, there is an audience for each.

And no, just because you write a program using KDE or GNOME libraries doesn't make it un-runnable on other desktop environments. So calm down, and just focus on working on the projects you like, rather than trashing other people or railing against the evils of choice.