Linux is not about choice

http://www.redhat.com/archives/rhl-devel-list/2008-January/msg00861.html

by chrislloyd • 15 years ago

7 3 15 years ago

_b8r02• 15 years ago

I think he's saying that RedHat isn't about choice. For Linux (being the kernel) choice is a central theme. You can take what you want out of it, put what you want in. Don't like the scheduler? Change it. Don't need those drivers? Rip them out. Don't want a particular userland? Fine, choose something else.

That level of choice doesn't extend to everyone, but to deny it exists is to deny a fundamental differentiator of open source against closed source systems. Linux will never be able to force DRM onto you, because you always have the option to remove it. The same goes for everything else.

nwmcsween• 15 years ago

No Linux isn't about choice, creating a new userland still ties you into posix, linuxisms and gnuisms as with creating anything in the kernel as well.

_b8r02• 15 years ago

Why? Why not replace posix? It's not easy, but it's doable to modify the kernel so you can ditch it (or at least implement non-POSIX compliant structures) if you want. You can't do that with closed source OSes (except for A/UX which was posix, non posix and simultaneously painful to use).

Linux is not about choice

Related Stories