Linuxcon took place some while ago, giving many corporations an opportunity to spread some shameless self-serving marketing messages. This in itself is not a big issue. Corporations exist to maximise profit and they need to market themselves, sometimes selfishly. It's when deception and false marketing are encountered that we should speak out.
"Without the GPL, it's unlikely that many people would have gotten involved in this kernel's development. Linux needed GNU."The word "Linux" is commonly used to refer to a system created 30 years ago by Richard Stallman. It was called GNU. The Linux Foundation knows this, but it exploits a misunderstanding or a confusion to remove GNU out of history and pretend Linus Torvalds started it all. This is not an accidental error and in a way they can justify themselves and insist that have said the truth. It's a bit like a lie by omission [1]. This lie tends to perpetuate through misinformed people, owing its strength (and people's irrational adherence to it) to inertia.
There are some jokes about Linux version numbers and Windows [2-3] (not so amusing), with some Cult of Personalities coverage revolving around Linus Torvalds [4-5], who again entertains the questions about Microsoft. Apart from that, there is some interesting bunch of numbers about Linux development [6,7], but again, developers of non-kernel parts get mostly ignored, despite the de facto definition of "Linux" being more than just this undoubtedly powerful kernel.
Having had many opportunities to speak with Stallman as of late I can truly relate to his concern about omission of GNU and Free software as a whole. It's almost as though his life's work (personal sacrifice) got abducted and the symptoms are everywhere we look. Be sure to remind the Linux Foundation of GNU; without GCC (GNU), there would have been no runnable Linux. Without the GPL, it's unlikely that many people would have gotten involved in this kernel's development. Linux needed GNU.
GNU will soon turn 30 years old and we are planning to publish special Stallman interviews to mark this important anniversary. ⬆
Related/contextual items from the news:
One of the greatest impacts Linux is having on the technology industry is in the way it’s built. We often tout Linux’s success stories - from running Facebook, Amazon and Google to powering eight out of 10 financial trades to running the world’s supercomputers and mobile devices, and more. But these successes are the results of a massive collaborative development effort that is 22 years in the making and today is being studied and leveraged by everyone from software developers to business executives in industries ranging from networking to financial services to life science and more.
Linux 3.12 gets 'Suicidal Squirrel' moniker as Linux Lord recovers from SSD FAIL
A few minutes ago, September 14, Greg Kroah-Hartman announced that the first maintenance release for the 3.11 LTS branch of the Linux kernel is now available for download.
Today in Open Source: A broken SSD halts Linux changes. Plus: LinuxQuestions.org milestones, and see startup services in Linuxs
In a free-wheeling Q&A session Linus Torvalds and other top Linux programmers, talked about Linux, scuba-diving, and other odds and ends of the developer life.
Both the pace of development and the volume of code continue to grow in the open-source Linux kernel.
Comments
Needs Sunlight
2013-09-21 12:04:48
Michael
2013-09-21 16:45:42
Needs Sunlight
2013-09-21 17:31:02
http://meta.slashdot.org/story/12/10/11/0030249/linus-torvalds-answers-your-ques tions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MShbP3OpASA
Look at about 30:45 in the video. Though he dances around the F-word, it is clear that he chose the GPL for a reason.
Also one of the founders of OSI brings up the F-word:
http://news.slashdot.org/story/99/02/18/0927202/bruce-perens-resigns-from-osi
Michael
2013-09-21 17:42:31
But Stallman gets shunned because as great as the GPL is (and some of his other work) he is an extremist focused on exclusion and hatred, as so many of Stallman's followers do. It is very cult-like.
Stallman has specifically stated that his ideal would be to have choices and freedoms limited by the law - so that developers would lose rights to protect their work as they wish. He is very, very much *against* real freedom, which is the right to protect your property how you wish - not just how *he* approves. This is not to say in any way the GPL is not a great choice. Again, not sure why you went off on that tangent.
Needs Sunlight
2013-09-21 18:13:10
Michael
2013-09-21 20:15:00
With that said, when the topic of the GPL comes up I do think it makes sense to make sure people know where it comes from and to show thanks toward Stallman. Yes: Stallman has many repulsive and even reprehensible qualities, but that does not mean his work on the GPL has not changed the world in a positive way. As much as I have no respect for him as a person I have immense respect for his work there... and I think Linus and most who use Linux would agree.
Michael
2013-09-21 01:15:52
For those who work on Linux to note its anniversary is not a "lie" in any way, shape, or form.