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Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!nntp.coast.net!sgigate.sgi.com!fido.asd.sgi.com!neteng!lm From: lm@neteng.engr.sgi.com (Larry McVoy) Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Subject: Re: TCP latency Followup-To: comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Date: 15 Jul 1996 21:55:44 GMT Organization: Silicon Graphics Inc., Mountain View, CA Lines: 46 Message-ID: <4seep0$f0l@fido.asd.sgi.com> References: <4paedl$4bm@engnews2.eng.sun.com> <4rrimn$dro@fido.asd.sgi.com> <4sc2lk$d3l@uriah.heep.sax.de> Reply-To: lm@slovax.engr.sgi.com NNTP-Posting-Host: neteng.engr.sgi.com X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] Xref: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au comp.os.linux.advocacy:55504 comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc:23672 : (Note that i personally don't have a problem with seeing more than one : Linux distribution, but i do have a problem with Larry McVoy not : allowing us to have more than one *BSD distribution.) Wow, I didn't realize that the BSD crowd felt they had to ask my permission - that's cool, I'll have to start using all that power :-) Actually, it's not distributuions that I care about, it's kernel level source trees. The Unix world has fragmented to the point that there are several standards bodies that do nothing but try (unsuccessfully) to hold it all together. Step back and look at Unix from Microsoft's perspective, or the customer's perspective. We look like a bunch of squabbling kids - this thread is a great example. If Unix, say 5 years ago, had converged to one source base, to the point that the default installation on every hardware platform was identical (same apps, same window manager, same look and feel, same system calls), then Unix would have stood a chance of being the Windows/NT of today. As it stands, the customers hate Unix, and are doing everything they can to migrate off of it. It's a wild ass shot, but the reason I push Linux over BSD is that Linux is the mostly likely Unix, in my opinion, to be identical on every platform. I used to think that NetBSD was the right answer, but the personalities of the people there suggested to me that it was unlikely to attract a large following. I do not think that Linux is superior in every way to *BSD, in fact, I am constantly beating on Linus to make things better. But I strongly believe that the Linux development process is better than any of the BSD processes, that Linus does a better job of keeping Linux from fragmenting than the BSD camps (there's only one Linux kernel source tree, and there are at least 4 BSD ones, with no signs of convergence). I do think that there will be a day where Linux is better or as good as *BSD in every aspect. And I believe that Linux will be far more detached from the politics and personalities that are so pervasive in the BSD world. I think, if you care, that the big problem with the BSD world, to quote Bill Fisher of SGI, is "everyone wants to drive the big red firetruck". Since the BSD folks couldn't agree on a driver, they now have several, somewhat smaller firetrucks. Linux still has one driver, Linus, and everyone seems quite happy to let him drive. I like that. -- --- Larry McVoy lm@sgi.com http://reality.sgi.com/lm (415) 933-1804