Linux Takes a Small Step in Desktop Acceptance

Andrew Kantor at USA Today reports: “A couple of weeks ago there was a big announcement in the computing world: Linux Standard Base 2.0 was released. [...]“

I was kind of confused by this statement. From what I’ve seen, Linux doesn’t usually take small steps in anything. Being an avid Linux nut, I decided to read the article. Basically, with the release of Linux Standard Base 2.0 (LSB 2.0), there is now going to be a standard for all distributions to be released. This makes it so you don’t have to learn to use different programs to do the same thing. In Red Hat you have SuperEditor, and in SuSE you have ImageFun. Both have the same result - just two different ways to go about it. In some distributions, even the core system differs in the same way.

LSB 2.0 is going to change this. It has been agreed, by the bigger distributions, to have a standard in which the core system is to be written and set up. The inconsistencies between distributions is one of the big reasons for people not changing to Linux. This is supposed to heal that rift.

I, for one, don’t think this will cause people, in droves, to convert to a Linux desktop. Even if this makes it easier for those of us already running Linux, it’s not going to do anything for those not running it. People are still going to find Linux by word of mouth, as I did. [Raymond Mendoza]