Linus: "One 'patch penguin' scales no better than I do", Jan 30, 2002

One "patch penguin" scales no better than I do. In fact, I will claim that most of them scale a whole lot worse.

In short: don't try to come up with a "patch penguin". Instead try to help existing maintainers, or maybe help grow new ones. THAT is the way to scalability.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. announced today that it is set to release "Linux (for PlayStation 2)" Release 1.0, targeted toward the Linux development community in North America.

Linux use is growing at unprecedented levels and according to IDC, a leading market research firm, the Linux operating system marketshare is expected to reach 38 percent worldwide by 2004. In response to many requests from the Japanese Linux society to enjoy Linux programming on PlayStation 2, Linux Beta Version Kit was made available to approximately 7,900 enthusiasts in Japan in July 2001. Since then, overwhelming numbers of requests have continued on Linux community websites all over the world, with approximately 9,500 people joining the movement.

Fiorina also outlined several initiatives where the open source community should continue to apply its energy to keep moving Linux forward for customers. These included ease of use, support of the Linux Standard base to reduce the complexity of Linux development and the resolution of the royalty-free standards issue currently being debated in standards circles.

Torvalds added that some of the tension comes from his refusal to apply patches that aren't properly submitted and that aren't from people he trusts. Those people, known as maintainers, are programmers designated to lead the development of certain Linux subsystems, such as networking, the help system, and graphics.

... Kusnetzky gives IBM credit for the approach. "It shows a well-thought-out marketing strategy. They are taking more advantage of Linux and the open-source movement than any of their competitors," he said.

Indeed, IBM's support of Linux has succeeded in drowning out rival server companies with substantial support backing for Linux.

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