[viraptor]

It's got a big impact, but mercurial was released pretty much the same month as git. Git got more popular, likely helped by Linus already being known. If we didn't get git, we'd use something else without issues. And you can use something else right now. Linux on the other hand just doesn't have an alternative equal in features.

[worik]

"Linux on the other hand just doesn't have an alternative equal in features."

BSD?

[viraptor]

Two cases that BSD can't do - cuda, docker. For many purposes, you can't have a drop in replacement for Linux the same way you can with git / hg.

[infogulch]

I'm not sure I agree. git has a particularly lucid underlying data model which is the reason why it has endured so long (despite its objectively awful ux), and still sets the bar for cryptographically secure SCMs.

[viraptor]

The model is the same as mercurial with bookmarks.

[preommr]

> Linux on the other hand just doesn't have an alternative equal in features.

The absolute disrespect towards microkernels. Shameful.

[viraptor]

Is there any microkernel distribution right now which supports cuda? Or hardware-offloaded network drivers?

[rauli_]

Or BSDs.