[plug] 64 bit machines

[David Lloyd]

Michael,

> Why exactly does Linux want to aim for the Market? 

The obvious answer is "because it can". 

> The whole idea behind OSS is freedom of software with all its Linuxy
> goodness. Bugger the market. They can go and buy their inferior products.
> Once people realise that the best things are free, perhaps Linux will be a
> little more mainstream (it already is in a way).

No, the best operating system for the market at the moment is Microsoft
Windows. It's proven by its sales and by the fact it *is* almost everywhere.
It's only inferior on the grounds that you [and maybe even I] believe that
it's inferior...

The best things are NOT free. Let's get that little red herring out of the
way. There's a cost to everything we do and it's not always easily measured
in dollars, surely you're aware of this?

The whole idea behind OSS is freedom of software with all its Linuxy
goodness. Therefore you can have your version of Linux while someone else
makes a marketable version. This type of freedom is difficult to achieve
with proprietary software so maybe we don't really disagree with each other
and maybe we're just talking about where we'd like our individual Linuxes to
go?

DSL

--
"One man to heed us, each girl, each boy
  One voice to lead us in a song of joy!
 This is the hour! This is the land!"
 [Viet Cong Victory Song, Miss Saigon]