Why create a national Linux distribution? Why not just adopt a set of standards and loose guidelines, and create incentives for OSS adoption? Why not let the best of breed solution emerge bottom-up, rather than be forced top-down? Why not choose FreeBSD for that matter?
1. Fragmented package managers: There are too many different package managers and package formats. e.g., rpm and pkg Choosing one distribution eliminates that confusion. 2. Application compatibility: We want to catalyze the application ecosystem. We want applications to run everywhere without hassle. The national distribution will help that goal. 3. Domestic security audit: The whole point of creating the national distro is so that Indian programmers can vet the Ubuntu source-code for vulnerabilities. It's not that we don't trust the international community. Pragmatically speaking, domestic due diligence is necessary with any technologies we adopt. 4. Scope for future internationalization of applications. I want to see applications internationalized and reused in China, and India, and elsewhere. If we're all using Ubuntu, and following the same I18N practices, this goal is achievable. 5. Reduce government waste: The government, trying to create indirect incentives for adoption of OSS will make a bureaucratic mess of things. Having an unambiguous standard, codified in the form of the national distribution, may be the more efficient way. Hence, I conclude: "One distribution to bind them all!" _______________________________________________ ILUGC Mailing List: http://www.ae.iitm.ac.in/mailman/listinfo/ilugc
