Comment A point I see missed (Score 2, Insightful) 525
In my reading of this thread, one thing I do not see is that an AOL takeover of Red Hat threatens not only Linux, but UNIX, in general.
If I see correctly, Red Hat people maintain such systems software as gcc, glibc, automake, autoconf, and a few others (whatever was once available from sourceware.cygnus.com, and now from sources.redhat.com). This software was not developed specifically for Linux, it was developed for a wide variety of UNIXes, of which, Linux happens to be one. This software is so basic that one simply does not have a functional system without it or a replacement for it.
Consider, now, an AOL takeover of Red Hat. They would have then positioned themselves to control the software upon which a very large number of UNIX systems depend by controling those who maintain it. Given AOLs track record in such matters (prime example: Netscape), this does not bode well for UNIX. AOL becomes master of the world by killing off anything that runs well.
"But", you say, "this is all open source. We start from the last good version and develop alternative software." To this, I must say: How many of us have the time, energy, resources, and skill to write an optimizing compiler or a system library? How many remain once AOL requires non-competition agreements of Red Hat personnel?
This merger must not be proceed. It threatens the entire network by attacking its foundation.
If I see correctly, Red Hat people maintain such systems software as gcc, glibc, automake, autoconf, and a few others (whatever was once available from sourceware.cygnus.com, and now from sources.redhat.com). This software was not developed specifically for Linux, it was developed for a wide variety of UNIXes, of which, Linux happens to be one. This software is so basic that one simply does not have a functional system without it or a replacement for it.
Consider, now, an AOL takeover of Red Hat. They would have then positioned themselves to control the software upon which a very large number of UNIX systems depend by controling those who maintain it. Given AOLs track record in such matters (prime example: Netscape), this does not bode well for UNIX. AOL becomes master of the world by killing off anything that runs well.
"But", you say, "this is all open source. We start from the last good version and develop alternative software." To this, I must say: How many of us have the time, energy, resources, and skill to write an optimizing compiler or a system library? How many remain once AOL requires non-competition agreements of Red Hat personnel?
This merger must not be proceed. It threatens the entire network by attacking its foundation.
