Excellent points. I think you're right--it does make more sense to give the distros flashy names and leave the kernel as a number.
What kind of IT director? Certainly not my current one (on the off change he reads Slashdot). Must be that one that works with that friend of my uncle.
I don't fault the maintainers for being conservative in the release of kernel upgrades, but I think there is a valid point here. People in general are sheep and as such, they are swayed by "bright" and "flashy." In order to help them see Linux as a viable OS, it might very well help to give the kernels more market oriented names.
I'm perfectly happy with 2.4, 2.6, or whatever, but I know that my brother, my neighbor, and my IT director would be more likely to give a second glance to Linux 2004 or some such thing.
I think you are right on target. My guess is that if you dig, you'll find those figures trace back to the music industry. Convince enough sheep..er..people, that -everyone else- is quickly deleting the files and they will too. It becomes a self-fulfiling prophecy that serves a corporate end.
Until the emergency dispatch centers and the VoIP providers find a good, consistent, work around for 911 calls, this may prove a serious stumbling block for widespread adoption.
While some (Vonage for example) allow you to register your location and transmit it to the dispatch center, others don't. I'm not a fan of regulation in general, but this is one issue that really needs to be addressed by the industry and if not by the industry, then by the government.
Paul
Slashdot Mirror
Excellent points. I think you're right--it does make more sense to give the distros flashy names and leave the kernel as a number.
What kind of IT director? Certainly not my current one (on the off change he reads Slashdot). Must be that one that works with that friend of my uncle.
Paul
I don't fault the maintainers for being conservative in the release of kernel upgrades, but I think there is a valid point here. People in general are sheep and as such, they are swayed by "bright" and "flashy." In order to help them see Linux as a viable OS, it might very well help to give the kernels more market oriented names.
I'm perfectly happy with 2.4, 2.6, or whatever, but I know that my brother, my neighbor, and my IT director would be more likely to give a second glance to Linux 2004 or some such thing.
Paul
I think you are right on target. My guess is that if you dig, you'll find those figures trace back to the music industry. Convince enough sheep..er..people, that -everyone else- is quickly deleting the files and they will too. It becomes a self-fulfiling prophecy that serves a corporate end.
Until the emergency dispatch centers and the VoIP providers find a good, consistent, work around for 911 calls, this may prove a serious stumbling block for widespread adoption. While some (Vonage for example) allow you to register your location and transmit it to the dispatch center, others don't. I'm not a fan of regulation in general, but this is one issue that really needs to be addressed by the industry and if not by the industry, then by the government. Paul