Much as I agree that it shouldn't be more Linux-y, I do wonder....
There are certain advantages to becoming more mainstream. Whatever folks might think about Ubuntu, it seems that it went a long way in its heyday at least, in getting both hardware and software vendors to give Linux more serious consideration.
While this might just be an old guy's vision of younger folks, I think that part of what happened was that as Ubuntu made it easier to use on a laptop, kids could be cooler than their friends by having something different. Had it been too hard to get working with most laptops, though, many of these kids might have given up. Then they go to college, come out, go work in IT, and they have this fondness for Ubuntu and Debian based systems.
Now, FreeBSD doesn't have anything like that. While we are all thinking, Great, who needs it, there is some value in having numbers, and having a growing influx of younger admins and developers liking it. PCBSD, while it lowers the barrier a bit, still has various issues with, for example, finding some Linux distributions if it installs its own grub, or being found by other Linux distributions, at least on ZFS, if using said distro's grub. (Note that this was in one quick test, while trying to decide whether to recommend it to a less technical friend, and while I'm sure it can be overcome, the entire experience seemed as if it would require more support than I was willing to give.)
I can easily find myself in the mood to support either viewpoint. If only a few people in the next generation of admins and developers have no interest in it, it will slowly fade away.
Yet, Linux becomes more like Windows with each iteration, even allowing for my old curmudgeon prejudices.
I do think there are advantages to lowering the bar, at least to some point. Then, I look at what the younger developers who seem to only be able to comprehend using a system on a single user laptop that goes to different places, and how they make it harder for sysadmins with the things that get put into the latest versions of Linux, and my view goes back the other way--let's leave the bar high and let the young, smartphone oriented developers go and continue to ruin Linux.
Big Disclaimer. I'm old and grouchy and I'm sure that I resent some changes just because they are changes.
There are certain advantages to becoming more mainstream. Whatever folks might think about Ubuntu, it seems that it went a long way in its heyday at least, in getting both hardware and software vendors to give Linux more serious consideration.
While this might just be an old guy's vision of younger folks, I think that part of what happened was that as Ubuntu made it easier to use on a laptop, kids could be cooler than their friends by having something different. Had it been too hard to get working with most laptops, though, many of these kids might have given up. Then they go to college, come out, go work in IT, and they have this fondness for Ubuntu and Debian based systems.
Now, FreeBSD doesn't have anything like that. While we are all thinking, Great, who needs it, there is some value in having numbers, and having a growing influx of younger admins and developers liking it. PCBSD, while it lowers the barrier a bit, still has various issues with, for example, finding some Linux distributions if it installs its own grub, or being found by other Linux distributions, at least on ZFS, if using said distro's grub. (Note that this was in one quick test, while trying to decide whether to recommend it to a less technical friend, and while I'm sure it can be overcome, the entire experience seemed as if it would require more support than I was willing to give.)
I can easily find myself in the mood to support either viewpoint. If only a few people in the next generation of admins and developers have no interest in it, it will slowly fade away.
Yet, Linux becomes more like Windows with each iteration, even allowing for my old curmudgeon prejudices.
I do think there are advantages to lowering the bar, at least to some point. Then, I look at what the younger developers who seem to only be able to comprehend using a system on a single user laptop that goes to different places, and how they make it harder for sysadmins with the things that get put into the latest versions of Linux, and my view goes back the other way--let's leave the bar high and let the young, smartphone oriented developers go and continue to ruin Linux.
Big Disclaimer. I'm old and grouchy and I'm sure that I resent some changes just because they are changes.