Does "Linux" here refer to the kernel, or to the various distributions? If it's the latter, there is no "it" - there's a pile of different distributions, some of which, arguably, specialize in something they're intended to do really well.
(And even if it does refer just to the kernel, not all useful kernel stuff is in the Official Kernel Source - that's another place where different distributions could do different things.)
I'd say it's both the kernel and the distributions.
While the kernels may have flexible options, there may just flat be things that a BSD kernel does better than any Linux kernel. Of course, this may be seen as a sore point to Linux kernel developers who will attempt to address it in various ways, just as BSD developers may attempt to address things that Linux kernels do better than BSD kernels.
At the end of the day, there will still be differences. Even the perception of difference will lead to specialization in the marketplace.
Any specialization that occurs will lead to a certain market using it heavily which will lead to more experience with the product being used in that way which will lead to further specialization.
The existence of so many "easy to install" distributions implies specialization in the marketplace for Linux vs. BSD. I'm not sure the distributions help that much in ease of installation, but I'd be surprised if there weren't some Linux distributions that were easier to install than most BSD systems. Again, BSD folks might put together "distributions" and this would lead to competition and again, there would be a reputation for one being more for the Geek and the other being for the newbie based on their relative successes.
I'd be very surprised if there is a Linux system that is an exact superset of all of the attributes of a BSD system or vice versa. The only way I could see this happening is if one completely marginalizes the other, which I don't see happening.
Just the fact of GPL leads to some specialization. Linux will be used by GPL advocates, for their purposes and BSD will be used in commercial products for their purposes. This will tend to move the products in different directions.
It is odd to talk about something that's Open Source as a "product". What Linux or BSD are is really mostly perception. Either can be many things to many different people, based on what you have on your system.
Re:Excellent. (Score:2)
(And even if it does refer just to the kernel, not all useful kernel stuff is in the Official Kernel Source - that's another place where different distributions could do different things.)
I'd say it's both the kernel and the distributions.
While the kernels may have flexible options, there may just flat be things that a BSD kernel does better than any Linux kernel. Of course, this may be seen as a sore point to Linux kernel developers who will attempt to address it in various ways, just as BSD developers may attempt to address things that Linux kernels do better than BSD kernels.
At the end of the day, there will still be differences. Even the perception of difference will lead to specialization in the marketplace.
Any specialization that occurs will lead to a certain market using it heavily which will lead to more experience with the product being used in that way which will lead to further specialization.
The existence of so many "easy to install" distributions implies specialization in the marketplace for Linux vs. BSD. I'm not sure the distributions help that much in ease of installation, but I'd be surprised if there weren't some Linux distributions that were easier to install than most BSD systems. Again, BSD folks might put together "distributions" and this would lead to competition and again, there would be a reputation for one being more for the Geek and the other being for the newbie based on their relative successes.
I'd be very surprised if there is a Linux system that is an exact superset of all of the attributes of a BSD system or vice versa. The only way I could see this happening is if one completely marginalizes the other, which I don't see happening.
Just the fact of GPL leads to some specialization. Linux will be used by GPL advocates, for their purposes and BSD will be used in commercial products for their purposes. This will tend to move the products in different directions.
It is odd to talk about something that's Open Source as a "product". What Linux or BSD are is really mostly perception. Either can be many things to many different people, based on what you have on your system.