[kwlug-disc] Android everywhere ...

[Lori Paniak]

On Mon, 2010-09-13 at 17:25 -0400, Khalid Baheyeldin wrote:

>         
> 
> I hope Android wins, and the others go away, even if they are Linux
> based.
> Because if Linux fragments, then Nokia's Symbian and Apple's iOS will
> be the winners.
> 
> Choice is good and all that when we are talking developers as the
> audience.
> So having different distros is good for developers. When we are
> talking end
> users (consumers) as an audience, choice is bad, since it causes
> fragmentation
> for the market and slows adoption overall due to "wait and see" or
> confusion on
> the part of app developers.
> 
> Emacs vs. vim = good.
> KDE vs. Gnome = bad.

Is this really true, or is it marketing from competitors that like to
sell monolithic products?

How is a desktop different than a car or van?  People seem to have no
problems with choosing between a Honda, Toyota, Dodge or Chevy.  Even
finer Honda/Acura or Toyota/Lexus distinctions do not cause marketers to
lose sleep.  Why are we afraid of "fragmentation"  especially on
handheld devices where FLOSS has a demonstrable lead?  It seems to be an
advantage that competitors cannot match.  

I can run KDE apps on my Gnome desktop.  So long as the "steering wheel
is on the correct side", I don't know what harm there is in giving
people choices.  

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