We refer to Linux as an operating system, but it is not, and if you will, not just one operating system. A “distribution” of the hundreds that are available bundles the kernel Linux with some additional software that is required by any full operating system. These distributions, which we sometimes refer to as Linux operating systems, take money and manpower to develop.
Some distributions have a company behind them for development and promotion. Ubuntu, for example, which is one of the most popular Linux operating systems, falls into this category. And it's not the only one.
Some other distributions do not have a corporate sponsor and rely on other means to stay on the scene. One such distribution is Debian. Ubuntu is based on Debian, which means that most of Ubuntu's code comes from the Debian Project. Debian is supported by a huge community, which is closer to the Linux philosophy.
The presence of a corporate sponsor changes the structure of a Linux community. It can affect your experience as a user, even if you are not an active member of the community.
So, according to the above, is it good to use a distribution that has a company behind it, or is it better to follow those that don't?
Below are six questions that we will try to answer.
1. Are developers paid?
Very few Linux distributions pay employees, and Ubuntu is one of them. Canonical, formed in 2004, is dedicated to developing and distributing Ubuntu. It makes money by selling support and additional services.
Canonical serves as an open source alternative and a company that designs an operating system for the masses. The company employs people who design and develop Ubuntu, and maintain the repository servers. It should be noted that Ubuntu is a community, but many of the contributors come from Canonical.
Red Hat and SUSE Linux take a different approach. Each community-supported distribution provider also offers a separate Enterprise option. You and I might run Fedora, CentOS, or openSUSE on our computers, but companies with hundreds of computers will likely choose Red Hat Enterprise Linux or SUSE Linux Enterprise.
Red Hat and SUSE Linux develop enterprise operating systems using code from community-supported distributions. Each of these employs people who support enterprise customers' systems.
Finally, there are very few distributions that pay and have employees for desktop development. Let's mention Ubuntu or Pop! _OS.
2. Infrastructure
Even though open source software may be free to use, that doesn't mean it's free. There are many hidden costs to running the whole system. One of them is the price of maintaining the servers that store and distribute the software we download to our computers in the form of updates, or ISOs for new installations.
Canonical hosts software for Ubuntu, Red Hat does it for Fedora, and the same can be said for SUSE and openSUSE. These companies also host the websites for these distributions.
Without the help of companies or another sponsor, it is quite difficult to find all the money needed to cover expenses.
Who will pay for the hosting? How can contributors just waste time from their work without any compensation? Why would developers want to support the distribution? Who wants a distribution with slow servers? Sometimes donations are enough and sometimes not.
Large distributions supported by a company (Red Hat – Fedora) usually have reliable infrastructure. However, large distributions that only have communities like Debian and Arch Linux do not have this problem thanks to the huge number of people contributing to the community.
3. Can I buy a pre-installed distribution on a computer?
Companies interact with other companies. There's a common language and common concerns. When a hardware manufacturer establishes a relationship with another company that will provide software, they know what they're choosing. They know where to direct their customers, and they know who they're working with.
This is one of the reasons why Dell and System76 offer computers running Ubuntu (although the latter has since switched to Pop! _OS, their own Ubuntu-based distribution). Ubuntu remains the most popular desktop Linux operating system, but it's also clear that Dell is partnering with Canonical.
For enterprise customers, Dell has servers running enterprise Linux options from Red Hat, SUSE, and Oracle. All of them are established companies, of course.
There are other hardware vendors that allow you to choose your own distribution, so you can also buy other distributions pre-installed on a computer.
4. Is this Linux distribution competitive in the market?
Are you someone who started using Ubuntu in the last few years and likes the Unity desktop? If so, you probably don't like the news that Canonical has decided that investing in Unity is not financially viable.
Yes, as we have already mentioned, the next major release of Ubuntu will come with Gnome DE pre-installed. From that perspective, they are right. This is what businesses are looking at first.
The Ubuntu experience has changed dramatically over the past decade. The previous default Unity desktop started out as a slightly modified version of GNOME, but has undergone extensive changes along the way. It eventually evolved into a separate DE called Unity. Then it reverted back to a slightly modified version of GNOME. These changes were largely made because Canonical wanted to enter the consumer market and needed to offer a unique experience that it could support.
If you're not thinking about money, however, this issue is less complicated. You can continue developing a user interface (DE for Desktop environment) just for the love of the project. You may not be able to devote the time needed to develop the code, even if there are only a few hundred people using that particular desktop.
5. Does this distribution remain true to its values?
Free and open source software is not just about creating code, but about the ideals and values of the development team and the community. The free software movement states that every computer comes with rights and that the people who provide the software should adhere to a certain ethical standard. A profit motive does not conflict with the ideals of free software, but at the same time, too much is at stake when money is involved.
If you are a company that aims to make a profit and has to choose between an ethically correct decision and one that is better for its finances, guess which way you will go. Especially if there are shareholders to satisfy, the pressure to make a decision that will bring in more profits is even stronger.
This isn't the biggest issue in the Linux world, but it has caused tension between Canonical and some Ubuntu users in the past. Since version 12.10, Ubuntu has come with Amazon ads pre-installed on the operating system.
Canonical is a private company with aspirations of going public. This puts more pressure on Canonical to divest unprofitable parts of the company.
6. Are distributions affected by geography?
Have you ever wondered why Fedora doesn't provide proprietary codecs? One reason is due to the open source community's commitment to promoting other open source and free alternatives. Another reason is that doing so could lead Red Hat into legal trouble. Red Hat is an American company subject to US law. Ubuntu and openSUSE don't come with pre-installed codecs, although both distributions make it easy to download them later. These distributions are affiliated with companies based in Europe.
Many distributions that don't have a sponsoring company don't have an official home base. You can think of these distributions as global entities. The developers and contributors to these distributions come from all over the world, so it's hard to pinpoint which country or region is considered "home." This has the side effect of providing more protection from legal ramifications. Which country has jurisdiction? And since there's no profit to be made, why should anyone really care?
Different types of corporate support?
Linux distributions are diverse and changing. So are the communities that support them. Sometimes the companies that support them own the majority of the rights, and other times they are happy to find a seat on the board of directors.
Then, there are projects like Elementary OS, where there is a company running the project (also called Elementary), but it only consists of a few people.
Do you trust any distribution that has corporate funding?
Is there any mistrust in the idea that there is a profit motive? What distribution are you running? Could we see more sophisticated Linux distributions from companies in the future? Is there a chance we will see sophisticated distributions from large communities?
