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Torvalds Rejects One-Size-Fits-All Linux
Barence writes "Linus Torvalds has rejected the argument that Linux developers should pool their resources behind a single distribution. 'I think multiple distributions aren't just a good thing, I think it's something absolutely required. We have hundreds of distros, and a lot of them are really for niche markets. And you need that — simply because different markets simply have different requirements, and no single distro will take care of them all.' The calls from the Linux community have been growing due to Linux's failure to show significant market share growth."
Yeah, no shit. You're telling me I need to run Ubuntu or RedHat or something even if I want something else? What if I have a web and e-mail machine and want to run something flashy, but kind of lightweight? I'd use gOS. For a work machine, I might consider SUSE or Redhat (suse is even supported by our IT staff). My heart however, lies in screwing around so what if I want to run Debian, Slackware or Gentoo on my home machine? What if I'm chinese and want a chinese distro? Run Red Flag.
No way, you one distro., one desktop, one window manager, one office suite people go take a long walk off a short pier. I like my diversity and I like using the proper tool for the job. You can have my $FAVORITE_DISTRO when you pry it from my cold, dead hard drive. Give me $FAVORITE_DISTRO or give me death!
Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the war room!
Wasn't there just a front page ./ article complaining about the number of SKUs for Windows Vista? The complaint was that there were 7 (or maybe 8) different skus for Vista and how confusing this was for the end-user
In Linux land there are way more than 8 different distributions and options (desktop, email program, editors, etc.) within those distributions
Clearly more options can't be a disaster for Vista yet a good thing for Linux.
With Vista, a home user merely needs to decide between Vista Home and Vista Ultimate; if they need VPN, their corporate IT will probably recommend Vista Business. If they need both Media Center and VPN, then they have to spring for Ultimate. Not that hard.
Compare that to the choices faced by Joe User(tm) with choosing an Linux distribution.
Because RPMs suck. RPMs were unbelievably poorly thought. You go with FreeBSD's ports, or Gentoos Portage or Debian's apt-get, and they actually work pretty reliably. Try using RPMs, and you end up with a huge number of headaches trying to get it to track dependencies and pull them in without you specifically asking it to install each and every one.