--- Bill Layer <blayer at qwest.net> wrote:
> It's very troubling to see the 'man at the top' running off at the
> mouth
> like some lamer on IRC or Slashdot. I expected better from someone of
> rank, I'm sadly disappointed. I mean, I might have sounded off like
> that
> once in a while, but then again the world at large doesn't give a
> fsck
> what I'm up to... I'm just Joe User, if I act like an idiot I'm the
> only
> one who really loses.
   Methinks you are seeing a storm brewing in a tea kettle. Or however
that saying goes. As someone already pointed out, the kernal hackers
have been at this for years, and are no doubt use to everyone's
vagaries. 
   Linus Torvalds, despite his cool Finnish accent (I think Finns are
some of the coolest people on earth, having worked with a small sample
of them in the past) and his gnarly coding skills, is human, not The
Software God That Walks Amidst Mortals, as we tend to see him. I'm sure
that this will all be forgotten in a short time, life will go on, Linux
will get better, and Alan and Linus will remain friends.

> When I see the sort of exchange that is taking place at the highest
> levels, the issues that I have with the recent Linux kernels suddenly
> appear more grave than ever. I've had the fear recently that Linus &
> crew
> are losing control of their creation, and this kind of public tirade
> only
> deepens my fears for the future of Linux. I hope Linus apologized to
> Alan
> for that comment.
   I won't deny that times are rough for Linux. After all, after almost
a decade of quiet obscurity, it has burst onto the world scene.
Suddenly, there are a lot more eyes looking very hard at this Linux
"thing." Suddenly, there are a lot more expectations. New friends and
enemies are putting the heat on. One company wants Feature X. Another
wants Y. Gates, Balmer, & Co. want Z, that is, that the whole kernal
team is simultaneously struck by busses.
   Despite all that, the future remains bright. I see no reason to
think that this little tirade is endemic of deep-rooted problems amidst
the kernal crew. This, too, shall pass.
   :Peter


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