[GTALUG] ​Can the Internet exist without Linux? | ZDNet

[Lennart Sorensen]

On Tue, Jan 12, 2016 at 10:43:57PM -0500, ted leslie wrote:
> ​
> Totally disagree with Steve on this one.
> In 96-97 I set up an ISP, and bsdi was one of the top choices.
> It was about 1000$ from what I remember, and cheaper​ ​for
> a workstation, and cheaper in bulk buys
> (digiboard drivers wo
> ​rked​
> well on it, over linux at the time as well).

I got the impression a lot of ISPs ran Solaris in that era too.

> In tech support, a few times I called up, I actually talked to to the likes
> of Kolstad
> ​, etc, so it was a
> small shop at the time, and prices would have dropped if sales were very
> high volume.​
> ​ (i was cust ~#2000 ish)
> If Linux didn't come along, BSDI and other player would have had to drop
> prices, and if Linux didn't come in, another would have, i.e. RMS and herd
> , etc.
> ​ Who is to say in a few years even BSDi could have done "free",
> with a nice gig for paid support, etc.​
> So at best Linux bought us a year (Still a great thing that is!), but not
> anything like the what the article says. If Linux never saw the light of
> day, the internet would be exactly as it is today, maybe Android would be a
> bit different :) but the internet would be the same.
> ​
> ​
> ​
> 
> Am I biased!!  ​used Linux/GNU/X for over a decade as my main desktop,
> ​ servers for 15+ years​
> etc, but I am also a realist
> ​,
> steve is smoking crack on this one
> ​ big time.​
> ​

At least Linux and GNU showing up spared us from putting up with the
horrors that are BSD user space and packaging (if you can even call
it that).

But certainly the internet could exist without linux, and it did before.

-- 
Len Sorensen