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> I don't want operating systems to be a government-provided 'public good'. Huh. Interesting example. I actually do want to see a government produced public go
by jabbany 3y ago
> I don't want operating systems to be a government-provided 'public good'.
Huh. Interesting example. I actually do want to see a government produced public good operating system.
Where we're going, operating systems will either be ad filled messes or locked down walled gardens. A public good option would be required to meet high bars for interoperability while also not ad funded.
It's one thing to regulate away a market (make things illegal) and a very different situation if the government is just setting a bar for quality within a market.
- wolverine876 3y ago> Where we're going, operating systems will either be ad filled messes or locked down walled gardens. Linux?
- RIMR 3y agoFunny you bring that up, because 27% of all US Government systems run Linux. The problem is that the government doesn't give back any money, or contribute much code to the FOSS projects that they rely on. If they gave back proportionally like Linux Foundation Platinum sponsors do, they would get a return on their investment just in that they run enough Linux to benefit from contributing. China has given money to FOSS projects far more than the US does, and there is an official Chinese Linux distro available to Chinese users. Nobody is forced to use it, outside of Chinese government employees on their work machines, but like a library, it is something of value that the state can provide to those who might need it.
- throwaway2037 3y agoMost US gov't systems probably run RedHat Enterprise Linux. So, yeah, they do pay to develop GNU+Linux and lots of other FOSS.