:Linux.com: The Era of Commodity Operating Systems
Linux.com: The Era of Commodity Operating Systems Jan 6, 2000, 16 :19 UTC (0 Talkback[s]) (2848 reads) (Other stories by Christopher Repesh)
"The best accomplishment is sharing solutions and spreading the word in hopes of
providing services to the ever widening base of users of a peer-reviewed, continually
evolving operating system. If ISA, PCI, and IDE are what make PC hardware commodity
goods, then Linux and its push for open standards such as GCC and the Internet
protocols will be what makes thin client, server, and workstation software commodity
goods."
"The GNU GPL license is important for this to happen, but the acceptance of
non-proprietary APIs, protocols, and file formats is even more important. Do not forget
that the spread of Microsoft is accomplished more through an acceptance of it as a
"standard" than anything else. The licens removes the restrictions on software
propagation, but even with prohibitive license agreements with Microsoft products,
many Windows copies out there are bootlegged."
"Just imagine how far Linux can go without the stigma of unauthorised distribution. With
multiple vendors providing essentially the same software, the ISV (independent
software vendor) industry is primed to explode with offerings for all facets of the
computing economy. Think of companies that start off purchasing distributions,
tailoring them for specific applications, and turning around and selling their solutions in
a custom distribution. This is a completely new paradigm that makes Microsoft
inevitably just another player, not the player for everyone."
