Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

It's Not the 15th Birthday of Linux

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the burn-the-cake dept.

Glyn Moody writes "There's been a spate of celebrations of Linux's 15th birthday recently. What they're really marking is the 15th anniversary of version 1.0. But do version numbers matter for free software? The 'release early, release often' approach means there's generally little difference between version 0.99.14z, say, and version 1.0. In fact, drawing attention to such anniversaries is misguided, because it gives the impression that free software is created in the same way as traditional proprietary code, working towards a predetermined end-point according to a top-down plan. So how should we be choosing and celebrating free software's past achievements?"

3 of 261 comments (clear)

  1. Yeah Yeah Yeah by Lord+Kano · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Free software isn't developed according to the same models as proprietary software. We get that. It's just backwards to complain about how people take the time to celebrate the achievements of free software developers.

    LK

    --
    "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  2. Usenet post? by Max+Romantschuk · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Isn't the most logical Linux birthday when Linus first posted his code for others to improve upon? If memory serves me correctly it was a Usenet post?

    --
    .: Max Romantschuk :: http://max.romantschuk.fi/
  3. What's so special? by digitig · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's so special about the 0xFth anniversary anyway? Shouldn't we be waiting for next year and celebrating the 0x10th anniversary?

    --
    Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?