Users shouldn't have to go hunting around their file system looking in directories they didn't even know existed just to configure a piece of software, or find out where a piece of software has been installed. The Linux community needs to set higher standards for package management.

The spitting match between the two groups, KDE League and GNOME foundation, each backed by its share of Linux vendors, is starting to look like it's being driven more by testosterone than by any genuine effort to advance the cause of open source operating systems.

It was not the GNOME Foundation itself that bothered me, but the fact that many people believed that KDE was doomed because it had no commercial backing. Many companies have been supporting KDE for years now, so I felt it was time to make some noise about it.

The BSDs have been around for a long time - longer than Linux. But they have received much less attention than Linux in the press because they have fewer noisy supporters. Nevertheless, they continue to thrive, because of their similarities to, and differences from, Linux.

I can't help but feel that Darwin is getting the short end of the stick from all sides. Everyone is so captivated by Aqua et al that the open source project that could really use some more energy is being starved of it.

The rapidly changing demographic composition of the Linux community means that we have perhaps outgrown the ability of a benevolent dictatorship to look after the interests of all stakeholders. If nothing is done to recognise and include all stakeholders in a more participative process, a kernel fork may soon occur.

"You actually run Linux on your desktop?" is the kind of incredulous response I get whenever I tell people that I run Linux on my desktop (and my notebook, for that matter). After listening to such skeptical remarks for some time now, I decided to put pen to paper and tell people why it does make sense to use Linux on your desktop.

The Mac press is spreading FUD on the subject of Mac OS X. Members of the PC press seem enthusiastic about the OS, and isn't that exactly what Mac supporters have been waiting for? But as soon as PCers start gushing about it and Apple seems to be looked at with renewed interest from the real world, then the Mac Press starts dumping on OS X with uninformed and sometimes just plain unresearched nonsense.

After the unprecedented hype behind company launches such as VA Linux Systems and Red Hat, share prices plummeted, leaving companies desperate to reorganize. Now, it seems that the shareholders were not the only victims but that Linux's chances on the desktop also became something of a casualty of share dividends.

This is the second part of a series that looks at open source software development. This part discusses and focuses on successful open source projects and tries to understand what makes them so successful.