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Linux came from the efforts of selfless programmers for many different reasons. I personally support it because I admire this achievement which is, in my opinion, a testament to cooperation between people.
However, because the core of Linux development has been from hackers and academia much of the culture around Linux gives the air of freedom in ways that repels assistance from the private sector. Primarily, most software is either expected to be free but more so, to have the source code completely opened. Both of these expectations are contradictory to the private sectors mode of operation. This behavior has made it so that Linux gets glanced over with regards to support from the private sector which in the end hurts Linux a great deal.
I spoke to a representative from NVIDIA at PAX East and the conversation seemed to sour a bit when I relayed to him that I was a big supporter of Linux and thanked him for NVIDIA’s support. He dove almost immediately into an explanation that indicated that he might have interpreted my statement as sarcastic or snarky. He didn’t understand that I truly appreciated any support NVIDIA could send Linux’s way but I hope that in the end he understood what I was trying to convey. Maybe open source drivers would be great, but we can’t have everything and any help is useful.
In searching for a Game Maker equivalent for Linux I ran into forums where the general consensus was of the nature that the Linux camp neither cared to pay for software nor did they appreciate any closed source contributions the private sector would make. Moreover, because it is so minuscule of a market, why bother?
Sadly, here is the rub: without private sector support Linux cannot compete in the private market where it could be a great asset. Yes, competition is a great asset and to say otherwise would be like saying “this game is great if only I didn’t have to play by the rules”; that was Enron’s mindset…
So here’s the paradox. Linux cannot get the support of the private sector in order to flourish because Linux has gained a reputation to expect freebees and scoff at closed source software. On the other hand the private sector hesitates to support Linux because it is not a large enough market to invest in (or so they think) primarily because it does not support it and in turn inspires the “attitude” that repels the private sector.
To the private sector: I wish you guys would create software for us, I’d be glad to pay for any support you can send our way and closed source software is (while not ideal) certainly welcome. Maybe the more vocal idealists don’t welcome your methods but the rest of us would be happy to have more voices at the table.
