[9fans] Re: Kernighan interview (w/ Plan 9 mention)

[Conway Yee <yee@bronze.lcs.mit.edu>]

Leo Caves <caves@ysbl.york.ac.uk> writes:
> Arguably, Linux transitioned from its hobbyist niche
> to a wider acceptance through a server role.  The effort now
> seems to be back to the desktop.
> 
> Its difficult to tell in what way Plan 9 might make such a transition.

I would argue that such a transition will likely never take place.

First, there is usually only room for 1 "killer app" in the market and
Linux has already taken up that role.

Second, who can forget the litigation over NET/2?  Anyone who
contributes with the intent of transitioning to a server role will
eventually have to deal with ATT's lawyers.  I believe that the
engineers/scientists at ATT are honorable but are their lawyers?

Third, as it stands, Plan 9's license is hardly appropriate to those
who would run it for serious applications.  Who wants to take the risk
of having ATT own your application?

Conway Yee