[NMLUG] Why so many Linux distros?

[sbrowne at ix.netcom.com (Steve Browne)]

The rapid proliferation of Linux distros is leaving me flabbergasted.
I'm wondering, why? Is it just an academic ego exercise to have your
"own" distro because you've changed some graphics and tweaked some
functions? How many of these variants are actually of service to the
end user?

The stumbling block for Linux has been the (un)availability of
high-end professional applications for it, NOT open-source. I can
understand that developers might have a hard time porting their
applications to Linux if there are 300+ versions of it.

My analogy has always been, the use of the English language (for
example) is free. Nobody claims that there is only ONE version of the
English language. However if there were 300+ versions of it you might
understandably seek an alternative to work with.

There are the dwindling egomaniacs who stake their claim to fame on
legal technicalities, such as whether the operating system is Linux or
GNU_Linux, but I expect these trivial troublemakers will disappear in
short  time.

Steve
Stephen B. Browne
sbrowne@ix.netcom.com
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."
                          - Walt Disney