April 18th, 2005
Is Linux becoming Windows?
Is Linux becoming like Windows, so overwhelmed with features that it’s bloated?
Some people are starting to think so. There is support for so many features in the Linux 2.6 kernel that it may be getting so fat as to be unstable. (Just add one more feature. It’s wafer-thin.)
Andrew Morton of OSDL, who currently maintains the 2.6 kernel, admits new features are being pumped-in at an enormous rate, but dismisses suggestions the kernel is becoming unstable as a result. Most new features are optional and it up to those creating builds to decide whether they will be used.
Still, the result of that should be incompatibility among builds. If a feature you want isn’t in the Linux you have, you may be creating internal incompatibilities by demanding it.
But what do you think? It’s an inevitable question. Should the Linux kernel continue to trade feature-richness for speed and compatibility? Is there a way to have both?
Let us know in TalkBack.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for 30 years, a tech freelancer since 1983. You can follow Dana on Twitter. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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