Hi everyone,

Firstly, I love linux and I use Windows only for games. But I think there is fundamental difference between a company-based and a community-based development.

If, for any reason, in the near future, Bill Gates is unable to run Microsoft, Windows development will not be affected and someone will immediately take responsibility for Microsoft.

But I believe, linux is too much people-centered. Linus Torvalds organizes the Kernel, Patrick Volkerding is responsible for Slackware and Ian Murdock is the head of Debian. But several questions arise about what will happen with the kernel and these distributions if those people become no longer able to perform their tasks? Who will take the lead? Are linux users aware of that? Should they be worried? Because Windows users are certainly not worried about Bill Gates.

Thanks you all,
Arnaldo

Linux is more secure in that it is painless to switch from distro to distro. In the box I have over 95 distros installed representing efforts from 27 countries. I just can't see how a people's system abandoned by the people. Judging from the development in the last two years I would say it is coming in a big way.

Answered in order...

Someone will take their place, for example Linux already has a couple of people taking the lead on maintaining the stable 2.6 and 2.4 kernel trees.

Yes (only speaking for myself)

No (ditto)

Linux is difinitive proof that circular non-linear non-hierarchical absolute non-corporate total decentralization and organic diffusion of controll through cooperation among interested parties is a far superior model for human future in all fields than what is essentially evil self serving corporate hierarchical world hedgemony and domination.

Moved: This thread is more suitable in General and has been moved accordingly to help your thread/question get the exposure it deserves.

And FYI:
Patrick was seriously ill recently, a team he formed stepped in to take over pro tem
Linus mostly approves the contributions made by the army of contributors to the kernel
And Ian Murdock hasn't been important in terms of Debian development for ages

Obviously, you are new at this lark, but once something gets big enough, a single person loses their importance.

That's the beauty of open source software, anyone can work on it. Well, anyone with the skills LOL

Yea, lets put it differently. What would happen to windows users if Bill Gates decides he wants to totally screw it and make a new windows version which absoletly sucks and has annoying ads all over the place??

The rest of the windows users won't be able to do anything about it. They can't fork windows to continue developing their own windows version because they don't have the source code nor the rights anyway. The only thing to do is stick to the old windows you were happy with. But sooner or later you'll have to move on to the newer sucky windows version anyway, because of new hardware etc. not being supported in the old version.

In a model like linux or the bsd's this won't happen. If any "leading developer" decides to do something the community doesn't agree with, the community can just fork and move on without that "leading developer".

Just look at what happened with Xfree86, in version 4.4 there was a license introduced which the community didn't like and Xfree was dropped like a stone. Everyone started using Xorg in no time.

I think you underestimate the dynamic heart of this cooperation.

Exactly! With commercial software, what happens when a company folds, or they simply cancel a product? It's dead. Period.

How about Visual Basic 6.0 programmers? Many of them hate VB.NET and would rather continue with the more traditional VB series. What did MS say to them? Too bad.

With open source software, that can't happen until there's not one single person left who has any interest in seeing it maintained, in which case it probably wouldn't be missed anyway.

wasnt this released as XP?

Alex:
i dont mind about the change from VB6 -> VB.net.. at first it was odd, but i believe VB.net is pretty neat, and MUCH better and more professional than vb6.

Either one can be raised up or driven into the ground by people involved in them.
Currently Linux is raised up by people involved in it.
Windows is stuck in a quagmire of fighting their own users and supporting industries and organizations and themselves ahead of the public. The money is better.
If the entire executive elite of Microsoft was replaced it would move in a completely different direction and become something completely different than if they remained. With different terminology, ditto for Linux.

I wonder what would happen if Microsoft were to sneak a mole into the Linux kernel dev team and infiltrate bits of microsoft source code into Linux, slowly, slowly. Or maybe even hire scattered groups of evil mercenary programmers . For years Microsoft will 'apparently' ignore Linux. Waiting. Waiting until the time is right. Until ... BAM!

I don't believe anything can "sneak" into the kernel due to proper management techniques like code review.....

And even if they did manage to get something in there, the code could be ripped out and replaced. Linus has been asking SCO to identify the code their suing over so they can do exactly that.

Awwww...come on. Do you have to go and ruin the corporate espionage flick that was rolling in my head.

It is neat, it's just no longer the BASIC language. It's a dot-net language with some BASIC syntax retained to amuse Bill Gates. And FWIW, Pascal would have fit much better with dot-net, IMHO. I'd rather use Kylix/Delphi than that Mono crap too BTW.

VB6 to VB.net is a typical strategy of M$. Anything you spent time to learn and develop is secondary to the profit it has to make. Haven't found the same in Linux yet.

I don't worry about M$ trying to damage Linux in whatever way it can because Linux has matured to a super system at its present form even all future developments are to be written off. It is testimony of Linux's strength that M$ sees it as a threat to its survival.

I said this before. Should M$ dies one day it will find one of the knives that stab into its heart is a Linux Live CD.