> No vendor ships Linus base kernel. Linus base kernel doesn't pass anyones
> QA test suite. Linus role is to put out clean well designed code and to
> ensure development takes the right paths. The vendors then all add on
> top of that various things including bug fixes which while they may fix
> the bug are not the right long term solution and so won't go into Linus
> tree.
True: No vendor ships Linus base kernel. HOWEVER,
there may be "non vendor" distros which use the base kernel,
and (more to the point) there are customers who can and do,
and some say should, build their own kernel, which would be base.
Personally, I always run my own kernel on RH, SuSE, Slackware,
whether that be INTeL, S/390, or something else.
But we're getting off-topic w/r/t the thread and subject
to criticize RH, SuSE, Turbo for distributing customized kernels.
Several clearer heads have already chimed in:
o the differing business models
will always be incompatible in the extreme
o IBM evidently has issues other than the driver code itself
that prevent it releasing the driver code source
(think about it; think about how an unscrupulous lawyer might
might twist the positive precedent of releasing source into a
less-business-friendly argument about dissolving the patent)
o IBM, RedHat, (indeed, BMC!)
do not love their customers per se
Thankfully, there are those within IBM, RedHat,
(indeed, within BMC!) who recognize that
customer relationships have more lasting value
than intellectual property, and some genuinely love
their customers for more than money.
The second bullet there I think is the crux of this matter.
And the statement doesn't *solve* the problem, but neither does
the word war we've waged. Work the problem.
Folks, we need to think carefully. Nothing wrong with argument.
Just be constructive. Doesn't matter whether it's Alan Cox
or Alan Altmark, each man has gotta eat. Argue productively.
--
Rick Troth, BMC Software, Inc.
2101 City West Blvd., Houston, Texas, USA, 77042 1-800-841-2031
