Linux Distributors Unite on Standard

Linux不能成为主流的部分原因是，各版本的Linux互不兼容。为了在桌面系统市场挑战Windows，一些Linux发行商宣称已在桌面Linux标准化问题上达成一致。
自由标准集团（FSG）的执行主任Jim Zemlin说，Linux在这方面需要向Windows学习，标准化是普及的前提。FSG此前推出了服务器版的标准Linux Standard Base，最新的Linux Standard Base 3.1将包括桌面系统标准。
Xandros、Novell、Red Hat、Debian、Ubuntu等都将推出支持该标准的产品。Linux Standard Base 3.1还实现了对KDE和GNOME二种Linux图形用户环境的兼容，意味着符合这种标准的应用软件能够同时在二种图形用户环境中运行。

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Linux Distributors Unite on Standard
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Linux Distributors Unite on Standard

By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer
Fri Apr 21, 8:51 PM ET

In a move to make the freely distributed Linux operating system a stronger alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, a group of major Linux distributors announced Friday they have united on a standard set of components for desktop versions of Linux.

The standard created by the Free Standards Group should make it easier for developers to write applications that will work on Linux versions from different distributors.

Linux has a firm foothold as an operating system for servers - it's popular for hosting Web sites, for instance - but has only a few percent of the desktop market.

That's partly because, Linux, created in the early 90s by Finnish programmer Linus Torvalds, is really just the kernel, or core of an operating system. For a Linux computer to perform meaningful tasks, more software needs to be added that does things like presenting a graphical user interface.

Unfortunately, those added software libraries differ among Linux distributors, making it hard to know if an application like a word processor will function on a particular Linux computer.

"One of the big things that's difficult is consistency, and that's Window's biggest strength," said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Free Standards Group.

If you buy a Windows program, you know it will run on a Windows computer, and Linux needs to work the same way, Zemlin said.

"If you really want to become a broadly adopted and used technology, you have to have that degree of standardization," he said.

The FSG, which counts among its members IBM Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc., Dell Inc. and Red Hat Inc., has previously certified server versions, or distributions, as conforming to its Linux Standard Base. The latest version of the LSB, 3.1, will be the first one to include a standard for desktop distributions.

The first desktop distribution to be certified will be from Xandros Inc. and will ship on May 1. It will be followed by certified distributions from Novell Inc., Red Hat, the Debian Project, Ubuntu and others.

There are two popular, competing graphical user interfaces for Linux, KDE and GNOME. The LSB doesn't choose between them, but mandates compatibility at a lower level of the system. That makes it possible to develop applications that should run on a system regardless of which user interface is installed, the FSG said.

Michael Jang, author of "Linux Annoyances for Geeks," said the desktop standard is a step in the right direction.

"There's more choice on the Linux desktop than most IT managers can stand, and that's led to problems," he said.

Obstacles remain, however, to widespread Linux adoption. It's still not clear, Jang said, if developers will create Linux versions of all applications people need. For example, tax preparation software, which changes every year, is not available for Linux (though tax preparation Web sites provide an alternative for less complex filings).

Also, most computer manufacturers install Windows by default, and only a few offer to install Linux. Installation by the user is easy, but it's still a step that daunts many, Jang said.

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On the Net:

http://www.freestandards.org