“Who needs Linux?” That’s a question that I have heard a lot of people asking over the past several weeks. It is not being asked in a disparaging or negative way — it’s not meant to imply that no one needs Linux.
“Who needs Linux?” That’s a question that I have heard a lot of people asking over the past several weeks. It is not being asked in a disparaging or negative way — it’s not meant to imply that no one needs Linux.
No, the people I hear asking that question are trying to sell Linux-based products and services, and they are asking because they need to know how best to focus their sales efforts.
It’s really an interesting question, because depending on who you ask, you’re likely to get very different answers. In fact, the answers to that question tend to highlight the differences between the open source software development model and the traditional closed software development model. They also highlight the differences between the commercial and non-commercial interests of the Linux community.
For example, a good number of the developers that participate in the Linux kernel development effort will likely tell you that they need Linux. Linux is a great example of the “scratch your own itch” mentality that fuels so many open source projects. After all, Linux was started because Linus wanted a Unix that he could run on his desktop Intel machine.
Many developers continue to participate simply for the sense of satisfaction that they feel for having contributed to the overall effort. Whether or not the software is actually useful to commercial interests is, at best, of secondary importance to many of these developers.
However, the situation is hardly black and…
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