Re:Just a thought... (Score 2, Insightful)

Thing is even if they did (are?)

a) we're talking about a lot of money to fill even a small proportion of the missing apps

b) for the health of the Linux software eco-system there needs to be many developers of such apps, not just IBM and a few other big corporations

Thing to realise is this is a keynote speech at a conference. Despite the tone of "I'm tired of waiting" he's not really talking about what applications he personally, or IBM as an organisation want/need, he's trying to throw out a challenge to the community in general. I'm sure if there are specific apps that IBM need on Linux they are willing and able to develop them.

Indeed "I'm tired of waiting" sounds to me like an attention-grabbing phrase rather than anything else.