For all its benefits and advantages, Linux has one major fault as far as I`m concerned: It tries too hard to be all things to all people. And as impressive as the achievements of the open source community are when it comes to covering the entire spectrum of computing applications, there is a growing feeling that this versatility may well be the downfall of Linux in the long run.
A server-class operating system on a handheld is just a waste of good development time.
Alastair Otter, Journalist, ITWeb
I`m not the only person to think this, and while I`m not about to take credit for this idea, I have found that over the past few months the naysayers` arguments are starting to make sense.
It is not something I am pleased about because I would love to see Linux succeed in at least one of the major areas of technology applications - most likely on the server side rather than the desktop. But, as I witness the daily evolution of Linux (and it truly is a daily phenomenon) I am concerned that the community of developers that made Linux what it is today are becoming fragmented and dispersed with no core direction.
Take for example the handheld or PDA market. Just a few months ago Linux was almost exclusively a desktop and server operating system. Today, a new Linux-powered handheld is announced almost every week. Without detracting from the amount of time and effort that no doubt goes into these systems, the question has to be asked: Why?
Linux is built from the ground up as an immensely powerful, multi-user operating system, so what is the point of stripping it down to its bare bones to such an extent that it can fit onto a PDA? A server-class operating system on a handheld is just a waste of good development time.
A true alternative
The open source development community could better spend its time making Linux a better server system than any other available. Linux already has a reasonable foothold in this market and with a little more work could well establish itself as the true alternative to the Redmond operating system for small and medium companies, and perhaps even make a run for the high-end Unix market in time to come.
The biggest concern is that this is not about to happen. After all, the incredible amount of development work that currently goes into open source applications is largely unregulated and anyone with a good idea is free to head off in their own direction, whether it does or does not contribute to the overall product.
I suppose it is part of the "Cathedral and the Bazaar" development metaphor that Eric Raymond described a few years ago, but sometimes it seems that the Bazaar has become too chaotic, and Linux developers could well be losing both their direction and the chance to prove Linux as a viable alternative.
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