LinuxPlanet: The Closing of the Bazaar

“Open source has been eloquently described as a bazaar, where no
one member of the bazaar can gain dominance over the others. But
what happens when one merchant effectively closes all but one
entrance for the bazaar’s customers, and then sets itself astride
the one remaining gateway to the market?

“One of the most positive aspects of Linux has been the
structure of the kernel, which is in turn surrounded by various
other applications in nice, neat little packages we call
distributions. Distributions, commercial or otherwise, vary from
each other, as different groups and companies put their own special
touches on what they think Linux should be.

“The problem is that some distributions have become so popular,
they have essentially become the very embodiment of Linux. And this
may lead to some trouble down the road…”

Complete
Story