On Friday 01 February 2002 11:47, Tim Howe wrote: > I think it's fairly obvious why Linux, and not BSD, has become the > stray cat that big business is doting on right now: When you say > Linux, people recognize the name, when you say BSD they haven't a > clue. There has been a shitload of press about Linux, even MS has > tried to bash the GNU GPL (damn bastards...). When was the last time > you saw IBM yelling "AS/400" or "AIX" from the mountaintops? You > haven't, because people would just say "come again?". IBM has found > a catch phrase with pre-installed mindshare to wave in front of > cameras. Linux is synonymous with geek culture and IBM wants some > too. Hell, the people in my office used to call my OpenBSD mail > server "the linux machine".
You have a good point. If those IBMers who first ported Linux to S/390 had ported to OpenBSD instead, things might be different at IBM. But, selling the sizzle not the steak aside, I still think the GPL did have something to do with the final decisions. It would be nice to have something concrete to point to though. > I still see BSD whenever I look under a rock that's holding up > the side of a mountain. In server rooms, in embedded systems, on > that old dusty server that's been running so long nobody knows what > it is. To say nothing of the benefits of having a variety of solutions within the internet ecosystem. > BSD doesn't look good lit up in neon, Linux and cute penguins > do. Linux has more people like Seth pushing it with their flamboyant > style and never ending energy (and really cool business cards, I > might add). BSD has more people like Jake and Chris Cappuccio who > quietly run their rock solid servers and offer help when asked. > Linux is like Tae Bo, it sounds cool, has cool characters pushing it, > and people know what it is... > BSD is more like Calcium: good for you, keeping you strong, but not > cool enough for an infomercial. Just cool enough for a mention on an > OJ carton. To hold to your analogy, maybe BSD is more like Aikido, not as popular, but more satisfying over the course of your life. But, I find your comparison of Linux to Tae Bo a bit distressing. I think T'ai Chi might be more apt -- better known with lots of cool people tied into it.
