Linux.com: A Requiem for 3dfx; a Lesson for Linux?

“Say goodbye to long time 3d graphics hardware innovator 3dfx.
For those not keeping up with PC news, 3dfx announced Dec. 15, that
it is selling off its assets to long-time rival nVidia. This move,
not wholly unexpected from a financial standpoint, comes as
somewhat of let down for 3dfx fans, including me.”

“What else can we learn from 3dfx? People like
standards. Amid the chaos of computer technology and operating
systems with a list of names that can reach to the moon, people
like finding similarities that they can build on. Linux needs
more cohesiveness between it’s disparate distributions before it
will seriously take on the desktop industry. Linux needs
standards. As it presently stands each distribution basically
does it’s own thing. Each has it’s own way of laying out files.
Each has it’s own way of placing startup scripts. The list is
endless. The only thing that is remotely standard between them is
the Linux kernel itself. This is one reason that companies often do
not wish to publish works for the Linux market. Support is a
nightmare of package managers, file layouts, strange kernel
patches, and weird rc layouts.”

“A Linux standards committee would be the perfect tool to
overcome Tux’s chaotic beginnings and mold our tribes into some
resemblance of order. This committee could outline a basic layout
for a binary distribution with things that could make life easier
for all concerned. Those distributions in compliance with the easy
guidelines would receive a stamp of approval from the committee.
Those that do not, let the buyer/user beware. These standards would
not impinge on the creativity that has made Linux what it is, but
simply make things easier for those who wish to write software to
do so without having to write not only the source code, but 3
different package managers, innumerable sub-packages for Debian,
Storm, Red Hat, Mandrake, SUSE, and the list goes on and on and
on…”

Complete
Story