Do hundreds of distros make open-source a mess?

Posted on Monday, July 23 2007 @ 4:11 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck

Information Week published an article about open-source software, claiming that Linux is a forking mess because there are way too many distros available.

The author, Alexander Wolfe, says DistroWatch.com currently lists 359 different Linux distributions:

True, some distros are more distributed than others. Ubuntu, which is clearly the flavor of the month (who says publicity doesn't matter when it comes to Linux?), is out front of everything else, according to DistroWatch. OpenSUSE, PCLinuxOS, Fedora, and MEPIS round out the top five. (Since this is an enthusiast site, one must assume that Novell and Red Hat are way unrepresented, so one should add those guys into the top tier.)

The existence of some number of multiple versions of Linux makes sense, on the grounds that there are different kinds of users who need different distros? But 359?

About the Author

Thomas De Maesschalck

Thomas has been messing with computer since early childhood and firmly believes the Internet is the best thing since sliced bread. Enjoys playing with new tech, is fascinated by science, and passionate about financial markets. When not behind a computer, he can be found with running shoes on or lifting heavy weights in the weight room.

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