The Debian GNU/Linux project needs more support - men, money and machines. But, apart from HP, big corporates don't offer the project much. This was the subject of a talk delivered today by two software engineers who work in research and development at Silicon Graphics in Melbourne.
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crimperman
16 years 12 weeks 1 day 19 hours ago
Good piece
However FTA:
> "Ubuntu has stepped into the breach as far as the desktop is concerned - and this is an irritant because without Debian there would be no Ubuntu. There are many cases of the derivative being more popular than the old man and also bringing commercial success."
Debian has never been after commercial success - that's the point!
As GNU/Linux usage grows there will be a set of users (home and corporate) who are uncomfortable dealing with Debian. I don't argue with that -no point it's just a fact.
And
> "It all comes back to the traditional argument which Debian developers have once in a while - to what extent should the project cater to commercial requirements as opposed to remaining totally true to its social contract."
I think Ubuntu is providing the answer to this. Those home users and the corporates who want to interact with a "company" and not a community can use Ubuntu. The need for Ubuntu will provide a continued need for Debian - apart from the millions of users it has in its own right of course. For corporates, the LTS versions are exactly aimed at them. This avoids Debian having to endure any conflict with its social contract.