What's Holding Linux Back?

Lack of a Cohesive Vision and Standards

Linus Torvalds does his best to help keep the vision clear and well defined, but so much of Linux is based on community support. He handles the kernel, but Gnome and KDE are handled by different people entirely. I think it is becoming obvious that the momentum is behind KDE. Yes, I am a KDE fan, but the facts speak for themselves. Gnome is like a lost child looking for directions, but KDE is leading the way, and it is one of the reasons that Mandrake 8.1 looks so good to me.

Linux is really two distinct entities. The command line kernel and the GUI. The GUI is separate and I think that is where the perception of a riff lies. The Gnome v. KDE wars have been hardcore and I don't think helped the perception of outsiders. To see the two biggest GUI guns blazing away at each other, sniping in the press, it just did not service to the community in terms of promoting adoption of Linux.

KDE has advanced to be much more than a GUI, however. It is now a full-blown desktop and development environment, and if more of the industry can get behind it, I think the second problem will be solved. Ironically, just as KDE has established itself as the dominant desktop, the fact that Linus went to work for Transmeta has some fearing that the kernel will suffer from a lack of leadership. But as was demonstrated by the latest kernel release, Linus is on top of the situation and still very committed to ensuring that Linux remains a responsive, high quality option. He has shown time and again how he would rather delay than release an unstable or unfinished product, and while the wait may be frustrating to some, the sentiment behind it should be noted. As long as Linus Torvalds has anything to say about it, the Linux kernel will indeed have a strong, clear path of evolution.