Is Linus tired?
I was reading osnews.org this morning and came across this story, about how some factions in the Linux community want to block non-gpl kernel modules from being installed in the kernel. http://www.osnews.com/comment.php?news_id=16720&limit=no&threshold=-1
I’m going to stay out of that argument, but what really caught my eye is Linus’ reply too this whole situation.
“In other words, you guys know my stance. I'll not fight the combined opinion of other kernel developers, but I sure as hell won't be the first to merge this, and I sure as hell won't have _my_ tree be the one that causes this to happen.
So go get it merged in the Ubuntu, (Open)SuSE and RHEL and Fedora trees first. This is not something where we use my tree as a way to get it to other trees. This is something where the push had better come from the other direction.
Because I think it's stupid. So use somebody else than me to push your political agendas, please.
Linus”
http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.linux.kernel/475654/focus=475824
Seems like Linus is tired and lost the will to fight, perhaps it was just late or he needs a vacation or is it something deeper that he is tired of fighting the zealots? In the past Linus would have stood his ground and told the Linux community that this wouldn’t happen over my dead body and it’s never getting in, end of discussion.
While I have gotten the Linux community up in arms I might as well throw another hand grenade onto the fire. Personally I think the Linux community should be scared of Solaris going GPLv3. It’s exactly what the Linux community wants but it could be a very dangerous thing. First as much as the Linux community wants Solaris technology, the Kernel is under the gplv2 and is incompatible so once again Linux is locked away from Solaris technology. That really isn’t the shocker, the shocker would be if Sun hired Linus Torvalds away to work on Solaris once its GPL’d and he accepts the position because Linus is tired of fighting the Linux community’s zealots and arguing to get what he think is right and control where he wants Linux to go when being pulled 3 different ways by the large commercial Linux distributions.
Feel free to say how wrong I am, asbestos underwear on, and breast plate of titanium and gas mask firmly in place flame away.
posted by jamesd_wi at Thursday, December 14, 2006
6 Comments:
Even if you can get away with the stupid community fights by using Solaris, it won't solve the "desktop fight between the major distributors" problem. Gnome is fucked up by enterprises who don't see the desktop with the same goals.
Perhaps we should do a Java Desktop, written in Java and Swing.
I think Torvalds is way too inconsequential now in the big picture. There seems to be about an even split (according to a recent comment by D. Miller) among *all* Linux kernel contributors about GPL v2 or v3.
How a v3 Solaris would exploit that split depends most of all on a good *vision* for the future of Solaris. What makes it so tricky IMO is that the Linux v2 holdouts probably tend to be interested in embedded, which will be near and dear to many developers *in general* (after all, they will easily be able to buy and hack those devices). The young talent would presumably be more exposed to little devices than to enterprise equipment more typical of Solaris.
I challenge you: what kind of vision could Sun come up with? How could it generate enthusiasm without addressing embedded?
No offense, but without this vision, Linux will not be stopped, and Solaris will keep fading.
Why is Solaris going to use GPLv3? What is wrong with CDDL? Is there any problem with being CDDL? Just wondering, because I am planning to use CDDL on one of my project. Thanks.
This is how Linux development works today, nothing strange. You clearly don't usually read the linux kernel mailing list lately, if you think that Linus does take many decisions today. He (and Andrew Morton) avoid taking decisions by themselves - if they need to take a stance into a problem it means "the system has failed", according to them.
I also don't know many things, except for ZFS, that the linux kernel community would like to use from solaris, being serious. I always find weird how much solaris people cares about what linux does 8)
I think that GPLv3 on Solaris isn't a great solution.To make OpenSolaris community more cool for independent developers you think something as an "Opensolaris foundation",an organism more independent,a structure capable to build the best Unix for x86 market.The CDDL license represent the better solution between free world and commercial world.I've no doubts.However the fragmentation of GPL license will kill Linux how a great player in IT market.I hope don't see Solaris in the same situation.
I think Linus is being smart and not tired. "So go get it merged in the Ubuntu, (Open)SuSE and RHEL and Fedora trees first".
I think Linus knows that the majority of users don't really care about binary or not binary as long as their stuff works. In other words, some kernel developers might build a kernel without any binary stuff in it but would it be used? I think I know that joe user would use Linus' kernel because he would get his 3D graphics working along with other stuff.
So in reality, Linus saying: "waste your time if you want. The users will ultimately decide". For him to put a stop to this would be stupid because he can't tell other developers what to do and not to do. That is not the way the community works.
I will also echo what has been said in the comments before: I find it very curious on how quick Solaris people use every minor niggle in Linux to predict impending doom :) Solaris doesn't need Linux failure to succeed.
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