  | Follow the money  Yes, it would be better to have a more unified front to facilitate adoption of Linux. I used to think the Linux Standard Base was the prime agency for this unification and would point to the prominent position of RPM in the standards for the ostensible benefit of newbies crying about "RPM hell!" However, although LSB appears still active with a new draft of its Filesystem Hierarchy Standard, mirrored by Debian, at the foundation of most distributions, one of the core values of Mandrake, and still (barely) visible in the Manifesto it does not seem much publicized in the recent swell of Linux adopters. I've seen some criticism of the projects relevancy and Fedora, at least, is planning major revisions of the filesystem. So, I see the recent growth of Linux, starting with the dot-com bubble that launched Mandrake, to be driven, in large part, by commercial self-interests, with the buzz, advocacy, and "education" that attends that paradigm. It's got its feet in both worlds, so that's hopeful, but is far from immune to the ills for which Microsoft et al are criticized.  |