Linux Will Only Replace Linux
“Sorry, Linus, but to me, the Linux goal, aka being an incentive to vendors, and an incubator, is over, now is the need for something the user finds usable, and supported.” link
Interesting article I spotted over at OSNews, debating whether OpenSolaris makes a better operating system than Linux. In short, which of the two are going to be “the answer!” But an answer to what? Uh, never mind that. Despite some odd statements in the article, such as comparing a operating system to a kernel (Linux), using the term “freeware” over “Free software” (the capital “F” makes it sound more official!), there were some decent arguments.
I’ve never used OpenSolaris, so I won’t go ahead and disagree or agree with anything in that regard. All I know is that I find Ubuntu very easy to use, and any other OS other than OS X or Windows XP will have to try pretty hard to win me, the master of the universe, over.
But I’ll ask, for the sake of arguing — which is why the interweb was born… What would make a good replacement for GNU/Linux? It’ll have to fulfil some important requirements first.
- 1. It has to be open source.
Maybe under a license less restrictive than the GPL, but it’ll have to be pretty damn open.
- 2. User made changes will have to be integrated. In other words, users will be given permission to commit code to the software.
It’s one thing to just open up some software, but something else entirely to let people add to it like Linux allows. That shows commitment to the community, which is really, really important.
- 3. It can’t be backed by a big corporation.
They tend to screw things up, and not care. Eventually, it will appear as if the community is being exploited for commercial purposes.
- 4. Foster a community that listens to itself.
Hopefully, you’ll get a community of contributors that listen to the community of users. Or just leave the community the hell alone. It’ll probably do that all by itself.
Finally, a requirement almost as important as #2…
- 5. It needs to quickly adapt to changes and new technologies.
A proper community-backed, user-oriented solution should not fall behind the times.
