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Myth of Linux Hobby Coders Exposed
Eh-Wire writes "Stuart Cohen, CEO of the Open Source Development Labs, does a short piece on the myth of renegade hackers coding in their parent's basements to create the Linux OS. He suggests this hasn't been the case for many years and goes on to claim that of the top 25 core developers, more than 90% of them are fully employed with some of the largest technology companies in the world. Stuart goes on to explode the myth of renegade programmers by saying, 'Sure, it represents a new way to create software, but the actual process looks a lot like how enterprise software has been made for decades.' A short but interesting read."
Linux is not the begining of anything. Linux is a kernel that works with the GNU OS. It's just one component. Actually the real history of GNU is far, far away from what this guy is telling. It started as a revolution, it didn't recieve economic support, and rms was unemployed.
Please read this: http://www.gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.html
and specially this: http://www.oreilly.com/openbook/freedom/
WTF am I doing replying to an AC at 5 A.M on a Friday night?
Imagine the birth of Linux Latest News about Linux -- thousands of renegade hackers coding in the dark in their parents' basement to create the open-source operating system. You would have to ask yourself: Are the world's biggest companies wise to build the future ofcomputing Latest News about computing on this basis?
:-) Linus (torvalds@kruuna.helsinki.fi)
:-(.
Thing is, it didn't happen like that, though the urban legend continues to this day, and I get asked about it all the time. My job is to run the Open Source Development Labs Latest News about Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) where the original creator of Linux -- Linus Torvalds -- works. The myth of the hacker Latest News about hacker is just that, a myth. Let me explain:
A 'Small Poll'
As most followers of the story know, the Linux operating system that runs in all kinds of computers and devices today -- from IBM Latest News about IBM mainframes and Motorola Latest News about Motorola cell phones Latest News about cell phones to TiVo Latest News about TiVo boxes -- didn't start out as a commercial venture. It was merely an idea on Torvalds' keyboard when he was a Finnish university student way back in 1991. His original e-mail solicitation for help was quite humble:
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
From: torvalds@klaava.Helsinki.FI (Linus Benedict Torvalds)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: What would you like to see most in minix?
Summary: small poll for my new operating system
Date: 25 Aug 91 20:57:08 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki
Hello everybody out there using minix -
I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I'd like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things). I've currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work. This implies that I'll get something practical within a few months, and I'd like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won't promise I'll implement them
PS. Yes - it's free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs. It is NOT protable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that's all I have
Corporate Pedigree
Fourteen years later, the combination of the right idea, the right leadership, and the Internet have made Linux perhaps the most successful open-source software project ever. To this day, Linux benefits from the contributions of computer hobbyists, corporate developers, and everyone in between.
Hackers of all stripes and motivations can, thanks to the Internet, download the Linux kernel, modify and customize it any way they like, and "give" their changes back to the Linux development community. One of the greatest strengths of the open-source software process is this "give back" mechanism by which the software continuously improves.
But the romantic notion that Linux is the product of a freewheeling, loosely affiliated band of thousands of independent hackers collectively turning their backs on the status quo is no longer an accurate description of the Linux community -- and hasn't been the case for many years.
Looking at the top 25 contributors to the Linux kernel today, you'll discover that more than 90% of them are on the corporate payroll full-time for companies such as HP Latest News about HP, IBM, IntelRelevant Products/Services from Intel, Novell Latest News about Novell, Oracle Latest News about Oracle, Red Hat Latest News about Red Hat and Veritas Latest News about Veritas, among many others.
And the process they follow to build Linux looks almost exactly like the software-development steps that their em
The companies own the code and they contribute it to OSS projects instead of the individual coders. The result is the same.
Umm just be so valuable to the company that they'll take you whether or not you sign it. I currently am employed with a pretty major defence contractor working on some classified projects for the Dod, but at the interview (they offered me the job on the spot) I told them I would absolutely not sign the NDA in the form that it was (I also do some coding for some OSS projects and I wasnt giving that up just for a job). I said I've inteviewed with 6 other companies and they all were willing to compromise, IIRC Unisys has a whole little department or system set up just for such a purpose. Anyway, they wound up just asking me to sign the non-compete agreement and never asked me to sign the NDA. They more or less told me that they just wanted me to be comfortable where I work and I'm really thankful I took this job cause it is kick-ass. Moral of the story: Stick up for yourself if you feel you're being held down, dont be scared to ask for modifications, if nothing else it shows the company that you won't take shit which looks good on your character.
Regards,
Steve
Think more along the lines of David vs. Goliath syndrome. Afterall, the myth of OSS is that we're rooting for the underdog. A bunch of skinny computer nerds sitting in a dusty basement hacking out code all night has a higher hero factor than a bunch of suits working at a high paying tech job and doing it as a hobby on the side.
As in the Romantic era, not as in love story. Painting the perfect picture by glossing over character flaws and other "real life stuff."
How strange. I've compiled 2.6 kernels without a problem. Perhaps you have some mutually exclusive features turned on. SMP in particular does have some problems with some other functionality.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Number two, if the top 25 people who contribute are doing a hobby part-time, and they're the top 25 people, then what does that say for the rest of the contributors to Linux? There are probably thousands of them.
Oh dear, it sounds as if you've managed to completely misunderstand the few basic points the man made, somehow thinking that he says the exact opposite of what he's actually saying...
Let's get this right, shall we? 90% of the top linux kernel coders are paid for that work by major corporations. Why is that so difficult to grasp?
"The companies own the code and they contribute it to OSS projects instead of the individual coders. The result is the same."
That's partially true, but there's more. I worked for three years for a software company that sold a small office server that was essentially highly customised RedHat. We not only honoured the GPL on all the company-owned components, but also had employment contracts which explicitly stated that we were allowed to work on other GPL projects in our own time.
In other words there are at least a few enlightened companies out there who realise that value provided to the community comes back several times over, and that at worst having employees active in the FOSS community will make them look like Good Guys. At best, they leverage the work that gets done and roll it into their GPL product.
That company was later bought out by a larger one (which is why I left). That company continues to honour the GPL, though with somewhat less enthusiasm than the original. Anyway, they seem to have a credible business model - they just got USD 55 million in backing last month!
Crumb's Corollary: Never bring a knife to a bun fight.
That's the kernel.org 2.6.0 kernel, as is.
You think that is something? I just recently had Fedora Core 3 do an update and my Eth0 NIC connection kept going inactive. I would activate it, only to have it go inactive in 15 to 30 seconds.
Fedora Forum traced it to Notwork Mangler, aka Network Manager and I had to remove it.
How is the typical Linux user supposed to manage when the standard install programs cause problems like that? I think Fedora is the beta test for Red Hat Enterprise Server. I feel like a crash test dummy for running Fedora with conditions like that.
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