Update: Make sure you read Arne’s follow-up post
where he states that the issue has been resolved.

[ The opinions expressed by authors on Linux Today are their
own. They speak only for themselves and not for Linux Today. ] -lt
ed

Contributed by Linux Today reader Arne Flones.

Last night I drove to Pasadena to attend the first night
festivities of Red Hat’s recently announced Revolution
Tour. The program, indicative of any opening night, was
complete with dysfunctional microphones, hung-up X screen savers
and speakers with first night jitters. Other than these minor
quibbles the presentation was good enough to make any Linux fan
happy… except possibly me.

The problem stems from Red Hat’s fast and furious deal-making.
Many would argue that this is good for Open Source because it’s
good for the business of Open Source. I disagree. I think it could
end up being a nightmare.

Red Hat and other Linux distributions are making deals with
software vendors, in this instance, Red Hat’s partnership with
MetroWerks, the creator of Code Warrior. I have absolutely no
knowledge of Red Hat’s agreement with MetroWerks. But I can say
that the main effect of that agreement is an exclusive relationship
between MetroWerks and Red Hat made at the cost of all of the other
Linux distributions.

Here’s the scoop. MetroWerks is releasing CodeWarrior not as
CodeWarrior for Linux but as CodeWarrior for
Red Hat Linux. Yes, you read that
correctly. Look at their Web
site where you will also find the system
requirements specifically mentioning only Red Hat.

As a current SuSE and former Slackware user, I have a real
problem with commercial Linux offerings being made exclusively for
any one distribution’s benefit. I brought this objection to the
MetroWerks and Red Hat people last night. Their response was that
CodeWarrior was specifically designed to work with Red Hat’s
distributions. One of the MetroWerks reps added that there were
some 39 Linux distributions and they couldn’t target them all.

My response, “Yes you can–./configure; make; make
install,” was shrugged off.

Given that there are thousands of volunteers ready, willing and
able to assist in porting CodeWarrior to other distributions, I
find it interesting that MetroWerks would cite the proliferation of
distributions as the reason that they are releasing CodeWarrior for
only one of those distributions. This begs the
question:
Why is one and only one Linux distribution to be supported
by CodeWarrior when, by using the Open Source community, the cost
to do one or two more of the other big distributions would be
minimal and could be recouped quickly by sales?
This strongly suggests that there may be an explicitly
exclusionary contract between Red Hat and MetroWerks.

As it stands, even if isn’t intentional, the results are equally
harmful. First, it puts pressure on all the distributions to adopt
the Red Hat way, not because it is better, but simply because Red
Hat got there first and received the most initial support of the
Linux community.

The Linux business is still in its infancy. We haven’t even
figured out all the rules of an Open Source business. It’s much too
early to declare winners. Winners certainly should not be declared
because of serendipity. This whole matter stands the peer review
process inherent in Open Source on its ear.

Allow me to speculate of another future scenerio.

• Red Hat makes deals with software vendors X, Y and Z
  Soon we get X for Red Hat, Y for Red Hat and
  Z for Red Hat.
• Caldera hurriedly counters with deals with software vendors A,
  B and C
  Soon we get A for Caldera, B for Caldera and
  C for Caldera.
• Debian responds with deals with J, K and L…

Well, you get the idea. The balkanization of Linux becomes a
reality. All the good work that everybody has done to promote Open
Source goes out the door. We end up with a pissing contest to
decide which commercial distribution can sign the biggest and
baddest commercial players. We may as well have formed the
International Software League and sell tickets to the events.

Let the distribution wars begin… brought to you tonight by
Flam Coffee and Blark Beer…

I don’t see any gain in this except for the upcoming Red Hat
stockholders.

If these dangers are real, how can we avoid this future.

• Support the Linux Standards
  Base and only support vendors who support LSB. Let the rest be
  nonstandard pariahs.
• In the meantime, encourage Red Hat and MetroWerks to be good
  Open Source citizens and support the entire Open Source
  community.

I take this very seriously. In spite of everything Red Hat’s done,
I consider exclusionary contracts (explicitly or otherwise) to be a
serious breach of trust. I hope others will see the danger
considering Red Hat’s recently announced IPO.

I hope Red Hat and MetroWerks will see this as an important
enough issue to do the right thing to re-level the playing field.
The other distributions should be able to work with Red Hat and
MetroWerks to make it possible to bring out CodeWarrior as a Linux
product, not a Red Hat product.

By initiating exclusivity in Linux distributions Red Hat is in
effect saying, “We’re now the biggest and the baddest. Who else
deserves to have the cream?”

My answer is simple. “We all do.”
Linux is for everybody, not just the chosen few.

Linux is not Red
Hat.