(Part 1 got too big, so…)
And now for the “yet another distro? it’s because of this that Linux will never conquer the masses!” part.
Every time a new Linux distribution appears - and, sometimes, even at other times - a lot of people - both Linux users and otherwise - say something like the above. That Linux will never “succeed in the marketplace”, because it’s too fragmented, there are too many choices, there’s not a single standard, and so on.
I believe those people are missing the point. To the “average user” — and I don’t mean the average Solitaire / Minesweeper-addicted Windows user, but the average guy/girl who is curious about trying some new OS — there are 4 Linux distros: Fedora, Ubuntu, Suse and maybe Mandriva. If another distro appears, it’s a specialized thing. If you’re a Linux geek, and the distro’s goals appeal to you, you may try it out. But to suggest that it’s causing “fragmentation” makes no sense. As I said, the newcomer will choose from one of those four distros, period.
Sometimes, the critics use a different approach, which I’ve seen quite recently: “there are so many distros, and these guys think that all other distros suck, and it’s they who will create a good one, for a change? What arrogance!”. This is, I’m sorry to say, more commonly seen here in Portugal, a country that seems to despise achievement and hate achievers. Who is anyone to believe he can do better? Who does that guy think he is, to divert from the majority? To create something on his own?
I think that happens for two reasons: the aforementioned hate of achievement, and also the fact that Portuguese Linux users don’t actually believe in Free Software. Sure, we use it, but most of us are quick to call anyone who cares about the ideology “a fanatic” (fundamentalist, zealot, taliban, etc.). Now, a huge part of Free Software is the right to fork - or the right to build on the work of others. Of standing on the shoulders of giants. If someone picks a piece of free software - or even an entire distro - and believes he can do better - even if just for a small number of people’s needs - he has the right to do so. And he’s not harming anyone - including “the community”. It’s possible that others will actually benefit from his work, that some of it will find its way into other distros.
But people call him a “splitter”. What is this, The Life of Brian? 
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Sorry to only comment on this now, but i had this article on my bookmarks because i was too busy when it was published and i kinda forgot about it later.
When you say that:
[quote post="378"]I think that happens for two reasons: the aforementioned hate of achievement, and also the fact that Portuguese Linux users don’t actually believe in Free Software. Sure, we use it, but most of us are quick to call anyone who cares about the ideology “a fanatic” (fundamentalist, zealot, taliban, etc.).[/quote]
i couldn’t agree more. Of course, software is just a mean to an end, and the problem here in Portugal is that people take that to seriously. In Portugal, people usually only care about getting the work done. Even if there could be a quicker and better way to do it, through the improvement of the software they are using.
However, i also have to agree with others when they say that:
[quote post="378"]it’s too fragmented, there are too many choices, there’s not a single standard, and so on.[/quote]
And i’ll explain why.
[quote post="378"]If another distro appears, it’s a specialized thing.[/quote]
Ok, that’s true. But look at the number of new, forked, or whatever distros with really no specific purpose or just mimicking the purposes of others. Just take a quick look at distrowatch and you’ll notice it. That’s the bad part about it: not the fact that there are too many choices, but that many of those choices are just clones of each other.
And of the subject of clone distros, those who say that Ubuntu is a clone of Debian surely haven’t understood a thing about what Ubuntu is about.
And that’s all for now