The Land Before Linux: The Unix desktops • The Register

[Cath O'Deray]

The Land Before Linux: The Unix desktops

It takes more than open source, it takes open standards and consensus

www.theregister.com

The Land Before Linux: Let's talk about the Unix desktops​

It takes more than open source, it takes open standards and consensus

… Way back in 1993, I oversaw a PC Magazine feature review on Unix desktops. Yes, that's right, before I was a Linux desktop user, I was a Unix user. …

Not mentioned, a 1999 article by the same author (Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols):

ZDNet Sm@rt Reseller - The Oldest Free OS

Yahoo and Walnut Creek CD-ROM, two of the Web's busiest sites, run on FreeBSD.

 

[smithi]

https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/27/opinion_column/

Which concludes: "It took its own sweet time, but Unix, via Linux, finally has become a top end-user operating system."

But a) Linux is a kernel, not an OS (while GNU/Linux is) and b) GNU is not Unix (by definition) so c) the article's conclusion is a non-sequitur, is it not?

Not mentioned, a 1999 article by the same author (Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols):

ZDNet Sm@rt Reseller - The Oldest Free OS

That's much more like it, for 1999.

 

[drhowarddrfine]

The guy on the Register equates code quality with market share. No need to bother reading the article. The guy is clueless.
He also wants to equate Linux to Unix in his last sentence.
If you read it, remember that it's an opinion piece. Not a technical review by a competent author.

 

[dbdemon]

From the 2024 article:

"Meanwhile, the GPL has legally enforced a consortia on major commercial companies … [All] are contributing, and feel safe in doing so because the others are legally required to do the same. It's basically created a 'safe' zone of cooperation."

Then Redhat/IBM decided all the other GNU/Linux contributors were leechers, and hid the RHEL code behind a paywall. Which in itself may in fact not be a violation of GPL. Although, their threats to cancel the contracts with any customer who shares that "open source" code with the world may well be a violation. The jury is still out on where this approach to "open source" will end up, but suspect it will go via the courts.

Instead, the Linux distributors and developers have learned their Unix history lessons.

They've realized that it takes more than open source; it takes open standards and consensus to make a successful desktop operating system.

I'm fairly certain that is also how BSD OSes are being developed? Although, I suppose there is a case for improved collaboration and standards between the BSDs, e.g. for drivers. (I understand there is such an effort underway now, but I don't think it's come very far yet.)

 

[Cath O'Deray]

… No need to bother reading the article. The guy is clueless. … Not a technical review by a competent author. …

---

A few clues:

Spoiler: Internet Press Guild :: IPG

I’ve been a business and technology journalist for over 25-years. Before I discovered that writing was more fun than programming, I was a programmer, network administrator and e-mail administrator for NASA and the Department of Defense.

Besides running my own freelance writing company, Vaughan-Nichols & Associates, and serving as editor-in-chief of Practical Technology, I’m currently a contributing editor at CBS/ZDNet; a columnist at ComputerWorld, a blogger at CSC Blogs, and a freelancer at numerous other technology sites.

In years past, I’ve helped launch four magazines. These were Linux Watch, where I was editor-in-chief; Sm@rt Partner, where I started as senior technology editor and was promoted to editor at large; WebWeek (Later Internet World), where I was a columnist; and Inter@ctive Week, where I was the online editor. All in all, since 1988, I’ve written thousands of articles about business and technology for magazines such as Byte, PC Magazine, Computer Shopper, IEEE Computer, and ACM NetWorker and newspapers like The Washington Post.

I’m also a public speaker and I’ve spoken at Comdex, Networld+Interop, Seybold, LinuxWorld and numerous other technology trade shows. Last, but not least, I’m the founding chairman of the Internet Press Guild.

I own no stock in any technology company, nor do I accept gifts or work for any company or organization that I cover.

<https://netpress.org/member/steven-j-vaughan-nichols/>

Spoiler: The Register

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, aka sjvn, has been writing about technology and the business of technology since CP/M-80 was the cutting edge PC operating system; 300bps was a fast Internet connection; WordStar was the state of the art word processor; and we liked it! Steven is an advisor to Cathey Communications, a PR company which represents CIQ, a FOSS company that work on behalf of Rocky Linux

<https://www.theregister.com/Author/Steven-J-Vaughan-Nichols/>

Spoiler: ZDNET

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols is a freelance writer and technology analyst. Besides ZDNET, he works with Foundry (Formerly IDG Communications), The Register, The New Stack, and Cathey Communications. He does not own stocks or other investments in any technology company.

<https://www.zdnet.com/meet-the-team/steven-vaughan-nichols/>

Spoiler: LinkedIn

Top technology and business journalist and analyst.

…

I'm a popular business and technology journalist with vast experience. I've written over 10,000 articles. Highlights include the first popular news story about the Web and the first Linux benchmarks. My articles range from features to reviews to OpEd to news.

I've helped launch five publications: Internet World, Inter@ctive Week, Sm@rt Reseller/Partner, Linux Watch, and Practical Technology. I've also written four books. I've also written white papers and other technical articles for Apple, DXC, HP, HPE, Dell, IBM, and Linode.

As an editor, my news section won the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) Gold Award in 1998, the Bronze Award in 1999, and the Silver Award for 2000's best technical article. As a writer, I won the ASBPE Bronze award for Analysis/Commentary Blog for my ComputerWorld blog in 2009; the IDG Enterprise Editorial Excellence Award for a how-to feature in 2014 and for a Best Insider story in 2015; and a 2017 ASBPE Bronze for my DXC blog. Most recently, the Trade, Association and Business Publications International awarded me its Gold medal for 2022's top e-newsletter for my ComputerWorld Business Critical Newsletter.

Onalytica listed me as a 2017 top 25 cloud and open-source influencer; a 2020 top 100 cloud influencer; a top IoT 100 influencer; a 2021 top hybrid-cloud influencer. and in 2022 I was listed in their Who's Who in Cloud. Finally, in 2019, Information Management Today named me the year's top cloud computing writer.

Away from the keyboard, I've been a keynoter, panel leader, and speaker at Comdex, LinuxWorld, NetWorld+Interop, Seybold, OSCon, LinuxCon, All Things Open, and other tradeshows. I've also appeared on radio and TV networks, including Australian Broadcasting Corp., ABC, BBC, CBC, CBS, Radio New Zealand, Slashdot, TFIR, TWIT.TV, and ZDNet.

I've also "appeared" on Jeopardy as an answer to a Linux clue.

I've been an expert witness on cases involving consumer electronics, hardware performance, software, and operating systems.

I've written for technical publications (IEEE Computer, ACM NetWorker, & Byte); business publications (eWEEK, InformationWeek, & InfoWorld); popular technology (Computer Shopper, PC Magazine, & PC World); and the mainstream press (Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle & The New York Times). 2022/2023 publications include AI Exchange, AVL Watchdog, CBS News, CIO, ComputerWorld, Dice, CSO, enterprise.nxt, Insider Pro, InfoWorld, Linode, PC World, Redis, Silverlinings, TechRepublic, The New Stack, The Register, The Verge, and ZDNet.

<https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjvn1>

Thirty-six publications, hundreds of citations:

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols - IEEE Xplore Author Profile

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols Resume | Practical Technology

… and so on.

It's probably fairer to say that he does have a clue.

 

[Cath O'Deray]

… a case for improved collaboration and standards between the BSDs, e.g. for drivers. (I understand there is such an effort underway now, but I don't think it's come very far yet.)

From Pierre Pronchery, presenter of the BSD Driver Harmony event:

Pierre Pronchery (@khorben@mastodon.sdf.org)

@grahamperrin@bsd.cafe @Shmuly@bsd.cafe @brynet@bsd.network @FreeBSDFoundation@mastodon.social hi guys, I am not currently working on driver development for FreeBSD, but I believe there is an active project on improving wireless support. Unfortunately I had to pause my work on the driver harmony...

mastodon.sdf.org

(He and I followed up in private.)

 

[smithi]

A few clues, from or about the author:

(Quotes of many column-feet of self-promotion by said author.)

Thirty-six publications, hundreds of citations:

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols - IEEE Xplore Author Profile

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols Resume | Practical Technology

… and so on.

It's probably fairer to say that he does have a clue.

He certainly isn't overly humble about it, clearly from his Linux-first perspective.

But do you think my analysis of his closing sentence being a non-sequitur is incorrect?

If so, and without weighting his correctness by sheer volume of word production, why?

(drhowardrfine, please do not 'like' this post, thankyou)

 

[Cath O'Deray]

… do you think my analysis of his closing sentence being a non-sequitur is incorrect? …

I do positively enjoy seeing FreeBSD described as a BSD Unix system (it's not); Linux described as an operating system (it's not); and so on. It's an enjoyable read, the essence of which is not devalued by use of colloquial language.

We can split hairs, endlessly, about accurate wording within the bubble of The FreeBSD Forums. In the much bigger world, I'm certain that most readers don't really care

… his Linux-first perspective. …

Not entirely. Second paragraph of the article:

… before I was a Linux desktop user, I was a Unix user. …

 

[smithi]

It's an enjoyable read, the essence of which is not devalued by use of colloquial language.

For me, factually incorrect isn't covered by 'colloquial', leaving little room for enjoyment - but if you don't mind, never mind.

We can split hairs, endlessly, about accurate wording within the bubble of The FreeBSD Forums.

Speaking colloquially - yeah, nah, I'm over artful dodging.

 

[dbdemon]

From Pierre Pronchery, presenter of the BSD Driver Harmony event:

Pierre Pronchery (@khorben@mastodon.sdf.org)

@grahamperrin@bsd.cafe @Shmuly@bsd.cafe @brynet@bsd.network @FreeBSDFoundation@mastodon.social hi guys, I am not currently working on driver development for FreeBSD, but I believe there is an active project on improving wireless support. Unfortunately I had to pause my work on the driver harmony...

mastodon.sdf.org

(He and I followed up in private.)

Sorry to hear he's having health issues. Fingers crossed his efforts will eventually turn this into a more-than-one-person project.

 

[drhowarddrfine]

It's probably fairer to say that he does have a clue.

Yes. I know who he is and have known for years and my opinion is the same.

 

[mer]

The guy on the Register equates code quality with market share.

"Microsoft Windows slinks out the back of the auditorium..."

 

[Cath O'Deray]

The guy … equates code quality with market share. …

Too narrow.

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols wrote:

… market share.

The reason for this, as David Wheeler, today the Linux Foundation's Director of Open Source Supply Chain Security, explained, was the BSD license has been troublesome …

I do encourage people to read the article in its entirety. Thanks.

 

[freezr]

When I read such articles I can only implies that some BSDs are doing well and therefore Linux must be celebrated in order to refocusing the attention over the market leader.

 

[drhowarddrfine]

He also goes on about how Linux succeeded where BSD didn't because Linux is open source as if BSD isn't. He even says that vendors have to write their own code--and they don't like that on BSD--whereas, on Linux they don't have to(!)

 

[blackhole]

You see this a lot with certain types of articles or blogs.

There is some "brief history" or background, much to brief considering the subject matter.

Then he links to another blog from 2006, where someone from Linux Foundation, writes a pro GPL opinion piece and criticises BSD licensed code in how it is used by companies.

Then he concludes with more GPL praise, praising Linus Torvalds, praising the companies who contributed code to the Linux kernel - then drags in Android and ChromeOS, which are full of BSD licensed and proprietary code, etc. Worthless article.

 

[cracauer@]

Then he concludes with more GPL praise, praising Linus Torvalds, praising the companies who contributed code to the Linux kernel - then drags in Android and ChromeOS, which are full of BSD licensed and proprietary code, etc. Worthless article.

Also, Android wants to feed back their Linux kernel changes into mainline, but it is just too big a task (lots of people hacking away on both branches for too many years). This is certainly not showing the benefits of the GPL in action.

 

[Cath O'Deray]

It's strange (to me) that some people have no interest in historical events or the abilities of organisations to improve despite, or partly due to, upheaval and ineffectiveness.

Without sjvn's article: it's likely that I would never have found the three-page 2006 interview, which vaguely reminds me of an obscure 2018 email that I found quite jaw-dropping … and so on.