His analogy is way off. Linux is not about choice because there are lots of distros. It is about choice because it is open source. Just like OSI is about choice and the IBM SNA technology is about vendor lock-in.
When open-source is fully embraced it enables developers to offer consumers better choice. For example, if I use .odf I have a myriad of office suites I can use to open and edit the document. If I choose .doc I have only one (Microsoft Word is the only program that fully implements .doc properly.) The open nature of .odf has allowed developers to give me greater choice.
January 9, 2008 at 10:18 pm
Thanks for pointing this post out, I thought I was the only person that thought the choice mantra was daft.
January 11, 2008 at 4:20 pm
His analogy is way off. Linux is not about choice because there are lots of distros. It is about choice because it is open source. Just like OSI is about choice and the IBM SNA technology is about vendor lock-in.
When open-source is fully embraced it enables developers to offer consumers better choice. For example, if I use .odf I have a myriad of office suites I can use to open and edit the document. If I choose .doc I have only one (Microsoft Word is the only program that fully implements .doc properly.) The open nature of .odf has allowed developers to give me greater choice.