A whole article just to say

Story: Why are there so many Linux distros?Total Replies: 26
Author Content
tracyanne

Feb 10, 2011
8:51 PM EDT
because you can.
nikkels

Feb 10, 2011
8:57 PM EDT
You also can answer that question with a series of other questions Why are there so many different cars? Why are there so many different kinds of clothing? Why are there so many different Cereals on the shelves? Why are there so many different political parties...? Why are there so many different religions with different branches...? Why...? Why...? Why...?
tuxchick

Feb 10, 2011
10:58 PM EDT
Too many notes.
Scott_Ruecker

Feb 10, 2011
11:36 PM EDT
For the record: When I finally get the time I am going to try and make my own version built on top of Debian or SuSE or Red Hat even.. What I want to do is Linux From Scratch soon and really get to know the insides of a Linux OS configuration from the ground up.

I'll call it Scott's Linux a.k.a. The Most Awesomest Linux Ever, MALE for short..;-)

And it will be way cooler than any of those other Linux's out there.

Yeah that's right..The MALE..lol!

I'm such a glutton for a cheap laugh..
tuxchick

Feb 10, 2011
11:40 PM EDT
*blinks and looks around* I hear wild cackling. Was something funny?
kenholmz

Feb 11, 2011
1:22 AM EDT
Scott, I suppose I'll have to start with one of the BSD's for mine. It will be called Super Terrific Unix Derivative or STUD. I can already see the mascot, cut from the best pine available.
kenholmz

Feb 11, 2011
1:29 AM EDT
@TA, you are absolutely correct, because you can...and that makes all the difference, doesn't it? It is the heterogeneous group that develops best survives and thrives, although it isn't readily obvious to the homogeneous group.
kenholmz

Feb 11, 2011
1:33 AM EDT
I know this group has above average mental acuity and is quite able to connect the dots. Still, just in case....think 2x4.
tuxchick

Feb 11, 2011
1:54 AM EDT
Fabulous Awesome Radical Tux
kenholmz

Feb 11, 2011
2:00 AM EDT
Ok, scholarly I'm not. Aside from learning that Slackware is a community distro like Debian and that "...there's no real reason why so many exist, and why so many thrive", only fictitious reasons I suppose, I finally noticed who is credited with authoring the piece.

Graham Morrison (of Linux Format) apparently penned this piece techradar published September 1st, 2010.

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/the...
kenholmz

Feb 11, 2011
2:21 AM EDT
@tuxchick, I'm much too tired to be laughing so much about so little. Fantastic Linux Achieving Totally Unprecedented Speed/Scaling
tracyanne

Feb 11, 2011
3:04 AM EDT
Re: Graham Morrison (of Linux Format) apparently penned this piece techradar published September 1st, 2010.

I wonder if those who complain about choice in Linux Distributions, and the default applications on each, have ever been to the supermarket lately... Breakfast cereal anyone?

An then, my partner and I were looking for flour, to do some home breadmaking, there half of one aisle filled with so many different brands of flour, all almost exactly the same, some were wholemeal, for sure and others multi grain, yes, but if you don't like choice don't go shopping for bread making flour.
r_a_trip

Feb 11, 2011
4:55 AM EDT
It's a weird article. It starts with a question that it never really answers. It hides that fact under a lot of tangential fluff.

The answer is quite simple though. The GNU/Linux market is a free one, where there is a very low barrier to entry. This fosters healthy competition and that gives us the many customizations we see in the wild today. Regardless of the form of the remuneration, be it money, fame or knowledge/code, there is a lot of trading going on.

It must seem threatening to a sheltered slave from the other Monocultures. (Which is the silent companion to this article: "Why can't Linux be like Windows?) I think most people haven't given any thought about their OS at all. They just bought that object called a "PC" and it came with this thing called Windows. MS has done a tremendous job here. Since a whole army of computer users have seen nothing but Windows (and sometimes that marginal and controlled piece of pseudo-competition called Mac OS X), it doesn't occur to them to think about it.

When GNU/Linux throws a monkey-wrench in the works, a lot of unconscious assumptions suddenly float to the surface, begging to be contemplated. If "PC's" aren't things that automatically come with Windows, then not everybody uses the same thing. Suddenly it isn't a certainty that anybody on the planet can open MS Office files or run Windows programs. How do these other people do their computing? It might even be that one is missing out on something without knowing it.

When the doubts start coming, most people get defensive and try to find fault with the unknown factor, as that is the only way to defend their current situation without questioning it. It must be why everything that it different from Windows in GNU/Linux is attacked and everything that they have in common is marginalized as "Linux is just a cheap copy".
Bob_Robertson

Feb 11, 2011
11:09 AM EDT
> Too many notes.

Which ones would you like me to remove?

Wonderful movie, _Ammo Deus_.

Watching it for the first time with my mother, who was a singing teacher, when Mozart is asking "How long do you think I can maintain this?", she answered in a tired voice, "20 minutes...."

Sure enough a moment later Mozart says with joy at his accomplishment, "20 minutes!", and the rest of the group around Mozart looked, at those words, exactly like my mom had sounded: Exhausted.
Scott_Ruecker

Feb 11, 2011
11:36 AM EDT
Hey Carla, Maybe we could do a combination distro called Fabulous Awesome Radical Tux/The Most Awesomest Linux Ever..

or FART/MALE..;-)

Bob_Robertson

Feb 11, 2011
11:44 AM EDT
...the mind boggles...
tuxchick

Feb 11, 2011
11:58 AM EDT
Doggone it, I ruined my fun by reading this blech article.

Quoting:We don't know any of the details, but Novell still owns a lot of Unix-related intellectual property...but the new ownership of its intellectual property is cause for concern for the future of its Linux investment, and for potential users of its open source software. This puts the viability of SUSE in doubt and makes alternatives like Red Hat more attractive.


Sigh. Silly me, I thought reporters knew how to look things up. Like oh you know the years of coverage on Groklaw of SCO v Novell, and how Novell won, and how Novell does own UNIX copyrights (which unix? don't know, don't care), and how Linux owes nothing to the sweaty-palmed owners of any UNIX eye-pee. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

It is also an interesting leap of logic that SUSE would somehow be more at risk if there were an actual eye pee issue with Linux, and Red Hat and other distros would not.

Minus five stars and may the author's beer always be flat.
lcafiero

Feb 11, 2011
12:40 PM EDT
Opening palm, inserting face (all the while chuckling at Scott and tuxchick's repartee).

It appears he started writing under the premise of the headline and then switched gears and forgot to change the headline. This doesn't absolve him of writing a poorly researched article, but I'm just merely making an observation.

The subject, of course, is one that borders on ridiculous for reasons mentioned by nikkels in the second comment, so I won't repeat it here. You're welcome.
hkwint

Feb 11, 2011
1:04 PM EDT
You know what would be fun? Starting your own Windows-distro!

I take Windows XP 'stable', remove all MS-crapware, add some Windows-7 graphics, bundle AutoIt, Python, UnxUtils (to get real work done!), Flash, Java, Firefox (of course customized with a skin and add-ons), LibreOffice, I do some register tweaking, and it goes without saying all of this comes along with a purple OSX-ripoff background. Then I post to Distrowatch!
mrider

Feb 11, 2011
1:05 PM EDT
It's a funny thing about Freedom (with a capital "F"), once you get used to, you start doing all kinds of unexpected, sometimes wonderful things, other times just odd things. Like creating the "Hannah Montana" distro.

Perhaps the author would prefer us all to wear nothing but lime green one-piece jump suits, drive nothing except flexi-fuel economobiles, and eat nothing but mulled oats.

Sorry, I ride two wheels not four, I like cheese burgers, and I like my distro not yours - thank you very much.
smallboxadmin

Feb 11, 2011
1:35 PM EDT
I'll make a derivative distro based on tc's. It will be called "Interactive Fabulous Awesome Radical Tux EDition".
hkwint

Feb 11, 2011
1:46 PM EDT
mrider: Yeah, you're right! The great strength of freedom of Linux is proven by the fact there is no "Hannah Montana Windows!"
mrider

Feb 11, 2011
2:13 PM EDT
(Unfunny and tasteless joke removed)
bigg

Feb 11, 2011
2:25 PM EDT
I think the bad humor is reaching the point of a TOS violation.
mrider

Feb 11, 2011
2:42 PM EDT
I got carried away. Sorry all.
bigg

Feb 11, 2011
2:58 PM EDT
> I got carried away. Sorry all.

It's not just you. Not that anyone has to impress me but LXers ought to stick with nerdy things and leave comedy to the comedians.
kenholmz

Feb 11, 2011
3:03 PM EDT
I have decided to write down what I thought Graham Morrison's September TechRader article. I believe there is likely more going on in Mr. Morrison's life than having too many Linux choices.

Others have noted the lack of professionalism in these recent postings, the lack of focus and vetting of statements.

This link is to a page where some articles from Linux Format are available in PDF format. http://www.linuxformat.com/archives&listpdfs=1

These were selected articles from past issues. Even so, Graham Morrison is credited with sole or co-authorship of several. I got distracted at about 30 so I'll just guess the number is 40 or so. One in particular I will note. From Issue 97 October 2007, the article "What Price Freedom?"

If you do look at it and if you don't read all of it please be sure to read the box at the bottom, "Freedom is a feature".

I have no proof, but I suspect Graham Morrison might actually have difficulty with all of the choices at the grocery market right now. No, I can't prove a thing, but I can note the difference between the recent postings and a few years worth of material Graham has been credited for.

I wish him well; in fact I wish us all well.

I have scanned for typos, but the fact is I can never see any until after I have lost control of the effort, usually about 24 hours after.

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