CNET News: Unix Pioneer An Open-Source Killjoy? | Linux Today

CNET News: Unix Pioneer An Open-Source Killjoy?

Written By
SS
Stephen Shankland
Aug 17, 2002

“Sun Microsystems began selling its first general-purpose Linux
servers this week, but Bill Joy, Sun’s chief scientist and a
pioneer in designing Unix, has voiced doubts about Linux’s
open-source underpinnings.

“‘The open-source business model hasn’t worked very well,’ Joy
said at an event here Tuesday to introduce a squad of new software
executives at Sun.

A business link, he said, is important for ensuring customer
support that doesn’t rely on volunteer help and for letting market
forces select between competing packages such as the KDE and Gnome
software that give Linux a graphical user interface.

“‘With open-source software, it’s more the ego that sorts it
out,’ Joy said…”

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SS

Stephen Shankland

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