Re: [aclug-L] Linux on store shelves

[Carl D Cravens <raven@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On 19 Mar 1999, John Goerzen wrote:
> I don't understand, and I think it's because of vagueness.  What is
> the problem with commercial interests in Linux?  Inherently, there is
> none.  There are plenty of companies that are out there writing GPL
> software.

The only real problem I see is fragmentation... competing standards where
competition isn't necessarily good for the user community.  It can happen
without commercialization, but it's far more likely to happen with
commercialization than without.  When there's money involved, people tend
to stop cooperating.  Corel is working on their own interface.  Maybe this
is a good thing... but on the other hand, they seem to be working on it in
private and aren't getting the input of the user community the way an Open
Source project does.  And I think that's what makes Linux so appealing to
many people...  the users made it.  The users, who actually use it,
decided what needed to go into it.  Not all of us were involved, of
course, but there's something satisfying about most Open Source software
because it wasn't created with marketing and money foremost in mind.
Usability, interoperability, and meeting actual needs are the driving
forces of most Open Source software... not the need to out-shine a
competitor so the authors can stay in business. 

Linux is much like the net itself.  As it becomes more popular, it becomes
more commercialized.  Commercialization brings us a lot of benefits...
with the net, we got a huge amount of growth, more free things than we can
imagine, and things like online shopping.  But it has its drawbacks... we
also got a billion clueless newbies, spam, and those people who view the
net not as a community and a tool, but as a resource to exploit for
personal gain regardless of the effect on that resource.  Linux will see
much of the same... growth, greater acceptance, and people who are willing
to exploit Linux for their own personal gain, regardless of how
inappropriate their actions are for the user community. 

--
Carl (raven@xxxxxxxxxxx)

---
This is the Air Capital Linux Users Group discussion list.  If you
want to unsubscribe, send the word "unsubscribe" to
aclug-L-request@xxxxxxxxxxxx.  If you want to post to the list, send your
message to aclug-L@xxxxxxxxxxxx.