NY Times Article on Importance of Linux

[ebrke]

Thought this was interesting:

http://bits.blogs.ny...?ref=technology

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Yup. I get the Bits newsletter sent to my inbox. I had read this already, but it's a good article.

 

Unfortunately, it's just common sense. A project of the importance of OpenSSL needs some sort of regular, disciplined oversight. Look at Debian, Arch, Slackware, or any of the regularly maintained distributions. They all, without exception, have a very active and involved senior group of devs working on them constantly. Conversely, you'll also notice that many distributions have fallen by the wayside over the years precisely because they lacked that oversight and support.

 

Maybe this will spur some improvements in the Open Source community. I'd be interested to hear what Dr. Stallman has to say about all this.

[ebrke]

What I found particularly interesting was the statement that " . . . Linux may be invisible to most consumers, but because it is used so widely and in so many vital systems, experts say, companies are acutely aware that their livelihood depends on Linux’s health and are more than happy to contribute financially and in the form of programmers’ time and energy." They never gave the same considerations to OpenSSL because although they may depend upon it, they don't actually make money from it. Maybe that will change now.

[Guest LilBambi]

Yes. That is interesting. I am sure that will be changing now though.

 

More companies need to start realizing their future depends on making sure people understand how important OpenSSL is and that it gets the attention it deserves because of it.

 

Look at CUPS, although Apple bought the code and hired Sweet, CUPS another small but extremely useful project does get the active development it needs to progress. But does it get the same many eyes make coding safer that Linux as a whole gets? Or is it also like OpenSSL in that regard?

 

I wonder...