Re: originality in linux

[Nick Hill <nikhilwiz@xxxxxxxxx>]

i do find a few things which i find pretty slick. I dunno how far they
go as being the first one at it. here's my take:

1. framebuffer - GGI, KGI, now into kernel.
2. /proc - yeah, ok, sysctl is the Right Thing To Do (tm), but linprocfs
is l33t.

i do agree that most of the other stuff is just a better implementation
of similiar features in others OSen, but then, I could say the same
about M$:

Product			Inspiration
1. NT			UNIX
2. Winduhz		Apple Macintosh
3. DirectX		OpenGL
4. Active Directory	Novell's Directory Services
5. VBScript		JavaScript
6. ActiveX		Java
7. MS Office		Lotus Smartsuite, ClarisWorks, etc.

I really dont remember any more of M$, but I guess u get the drift. I
think this question doesn't make much of a sense. People cant have
radical thoughts on a daily basis. A lot of OS research zealots claim
that UNIX killed OS research, due to its extensive ability to extend and
embrace new features and standards. M$ implements the same thing in its
management but unfortunately not in its software. Since the whole
concept of OSS is to continually improve software for a better tomorrow,
I dont think this should be taken into view.

I had a similiar discussion with a friend quite some time ago, about
"Killer Apps" which've come around in Linux and OSS in general. Apache
and GIMP come to u're mind. The reason that "Killer Apps" cannot exist
in a world comprised of OSS, cuz once u release an app, its not too
difficult to leech code from it, and make a new one with some additional
features added to it. U're new app might be the one which is far more
appreciated altho the amount of code u put in is of a _much_ lesser
degree than the original author's. IMHO, OpenSSH from the OpenBSD group
is one such case. An app cant remain a "Killer App", unless the author
is completely bent upon maintaining it forever. A new app in the form of
a "LINKA Is Not Killer App" doesn't take much time to come into the
open. 

Thus, I dont feel the "originality" factor in the features/standards
provided by anything play any role, in an OSS world. It might have made
some sense in the proprietary world, tho not too a great extent,
especially with the existing competition. I feel that, if an App needs
to survive the test of time, it needs to hit the right spot initially,
be it an "original" or simply an extension. If the app is well
maintained, and kept up with the user's demands and standards and
efficiency, it _could_ turn out to be a "Killer".

Nikhil.

On Mon, Dec 11, 2000 at 02:10:05PM +0530, Sarcar, Shourya (MED) wrote:
> A gentleman on a JUGlist wrote:
>  
> > Here is just one little challange from me to anyone and everyone on this
> 
> > list. This had come up during one discussion when I was working previously
> 
> > in a company engaged in linux-based development.
> 
> > "Just name *one* thing in linux, that is an *original* concept!"
> 
> > ... and best of luck! :)
>