“It seems clear from these corners that the Linux industry —
not necessarily anything specific to do with the underlying
technology or community — is due for a shakeup. Or maybe it might
be more properly called a shakedown or a shakeout.”
“The stock-related hype has come and gone. Those Linux firms
that capitalized on it with IPOs are sitting pretty, or at least
far prettier than those that didn’t. We now have a whole tier of
companies that have the technical competence but not the financial
resources of others.”
“Yeah, some may complain — and some already have — that
consolidation is a Bad Thing. But I’m not so sure. If people are
concerned about Red Hat’s attempts to paint itself as THE Linux
company, then the best answer is strong competition. And right now,
the commercial landscape is too rag-tag to offer Red Hat that kind
of full-frontal challenge. So… how might things shape up?
Here are some match-ups that could be interesting, if they ever
were to happen…”