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From: Ed Wanat <ejwanat@wwa.com>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.advocacy,comp.unix.bsd.misc
Subject: Re: Linux vs BSD
Date: Thu, 27 Mar 1997 20:47:34 -0600
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Jordan K. Hubbard wrote:
Tim Tassonis wrote:
> Mostly, but not completely. I chose (or stick to) Linux as well
because
> it's one of the few software products at least partly from Europe,
while
> any other systems is from America. Nothing against Americans, but
their
> dominance in the software maket is just too big (not their fault
though,
> but the European's). So my choice is as well based on the fact
that
> Linux is more international.
You'd be surprised. :-)
Well over half of the FreeBSD development project is not located in
the
U.S, and if anything the Americans are now a minority group. Just
because the original bits came from Berkeley (and even parts of
those
bits came from U.K. and Australia if you read the history of BSD
development, and some of the other universities world-wide which
participated) it hardly qualifies BSD as a uniquely "American"
effort.
In fact, just based on PR efforts and user coverage, it's the
Japanese
would appear to be doing the most in the FreeBSD market. :)
And yes, speaking as someone who lived in Europe for around 7 years,
I
agree entirely that the American dominance in the software market is
the
purely the fault of the various EC countries who said "Rapid
response to
change? What's that!? We don't want it! We don't need it! We
believe
in the old and important traditions, like summer beer festivals and
paper tape readers!" Fortunately this is now changing, but it took
a
long time - probably too long. I think the EC pretty much managed to
marginalize itself in the computer industry, and not for lack of
some
nifty products (I think of Acorn in the U.K., or PCS in Germany
before
Digital swallowed them up).
Americans, on the other hand, aren't comfortable if a building stays
up
for more than 2 or 3 years or if a major road isn't widened or
diverted
at least twice. One could almost say that the computer field was
tailor-made for people of our mentality. :-)
Oh dear, now I've probably started a divergent thread which will
last
for at least 20 articles while the american and european hackers
duke it
out over this, haven't I? :-)
--
- Jordan Hubbard
FreeBSD core team / Walnut Creek CDROM.
Well I will agree that many fellow Americans do have a short attention
spans. I'd elaborate, but the topic eludes me.
Ed