Comment Multiple distributions, IBM (Score 1) 56
The industry analyst who thought that putting focus one more than one distribution was bad for the market came by this strange view by considering Linux as a brand. Since Linux does not represent a single commercial force, it patently doesn't deserve such a comparison. It would also be a mistake to believe that if you took all the market share of commercial Linux distributions together that it would represent a smaller share than if the various distributions were to unify. Simply, if Linux gains commonplace desktop acceptance, it will be because it has been made both easy enough and useful for the typical computer user. If that comes from one distribution or a dozen, the growth will be pretty similar.
Furthermore, there will always be room for many niche distributions. None of this weakens Linux, it strengthens it.
Since IBM woke up to the Internet, it's been recruiting the sort of people who run Linux at home, who write it. There's a lot of Linux talent in IBM today, and it's no surprise that the journos are getting a whiff of marketed Linux systems. After all, within IBM, there's already plenty of support (and therefore patentable code that runs on Linux).
Furthermore, there will always be room for many niche distributions. None of this weakens Linux, it strengthens it.
Since IBM woke up to the Internet, it's been recruiting the sort of people who run Linux at home, who write it. There's a lot of Linux talent in IBM today, and it's no surprise that the journos are getting a whiff of marketed Linux systems. After all, within IBM, there's already plenty of support (and therefore patentable code that runs on Linux).
