ComputerWorld: Fragmentation can be a good thing, Linux creator says

“Opening the LinuxWorld show here today, Linux creator Linus
Torvalds touted the modular, highly adaptable nature of
the operating system and outlined some of the features of the
upcoming Linux 2.4 kernel. …addressed two key issues of
concern to the Linux community: the threat of Linux fragmenting and
the increasing commercialization of the operating system.”

“Torvalds turned the often-cited threat of Linux fragmenting on
its head. ‘Most of the things about fragmentation, I like,’ said
Torvalds. To succeed in many different markets, he argued,
different companies need to serve those markets with different
variations of Linux. But he added that bad fragmentation, marked by
infighting and unnecessary incompatibilities, had plagued Unix and
is now plaguing Java.”

“As he has done on previous occasions, Torvalds defended the
increasing presence of commercial companies in the Linux market.
Torvalds said Linux wasn’t created to be anticommercial but to give
the user more control. Giving users what they want is also a sound
commercial concept, Torvalds noted. He added that the commercial
companies are helping the Linux community focus on issues like
user-friendliness rather than just technology. At the outset,
Torvalds acknowledged, ‘Linux was not a very good product. It was
good technology, but it was not something a lot of people wanted to
use.’ “

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