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by dvfjsdhgfv 2634 days ago
> Linux itself is a UNIX clone

I think Linux is a prime example of innovation. Yes, it first started as a UNIX clone, then basically took over and killed all competition, starting with x86 and then practically all other platforms, with very specific exceptions.

What used to be a UNIX clone decades ago is now a testbed of all new technologies you can imagine in an operating system. And if some cool tech cannot be implemented in Linux for design reasons (e.g. a microkernel or a unikernel), a separate project is started.

1 comments

>What used to be a UNIX clone decades ago is now a testbed of all new technologies you can imagine in an operating system.

But most of them are still copies of FreeBSD, Solaris, and Plan9 stuff. Something particularly innovative in Linux?

The article admits:

> Open source often does create ecosystems that encourage many small-scale innovations, but while bolder innovations do widely exist at the early experimental stages, they often fail to be refined to the point of usefulness in large-scale adoption.

You can argue that, for example, KVM is a clone of something else. However, it's because of not stopping at an early stage KVM is now a mature and insanely popular technology.