https://www.channelfutures.com/wp-content/themes/channelfutures_child/assets/images/logo/footer-new-logo.png
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
Channel Futures
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Technologies
    • Back
    • Analytics
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud
    • Data Centers
    • Desktop
    • IoT
    • Mobility
    • Networking
    • Open Source
    • RMM/PSA
    • Security
    • Virtualization
    • Voice/Connectivity
  • Strategy
    • Back
    • Best Practices
    • Business Models
    • Channel 101
    • Channel Programs
    • Channel Research
    • Digital Transformation
    • Diversity & Inclusion
    • Leadership
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Sales & Marketing
    • Specialty Practices
  • MSSP Insider
    • Back
    • Business of Security
    • Cloud and Edge
    • Endpoint
    • Network
    • People and Careers
    • Training and Policies
  • MSP 501
    • Back
    • 2020 MSP 501 Rankings
    • 2020 Hot 101 Rankings
    • 2020 MSP 501 Report
  • Intelligence
    • Back
    • Our Sponsors
    • From the Industry
    • Content Resources
    • COVID-19 Partner Help
    • Galleries
    • Podcasts
    • Reports
    • Videos
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
  • EMEA
  • Awards
    • Back
    • Excellence in Digital Services
    • 2020 MSP 501
    • Top Gun 51
  • Events
    • Back
    • CP Conference & Expo
    • Channel Partners Evolution
    • Channel Evolution Europe
    • Channel Partners Event Coverage
    • Webinars
  • Channel Mentor
    • Back
    • Channel Market Intelligence
    • Channel Educational Series
    • Newsletter
  • REGISTER
  • MSPs
  • VARs / SIs
  • Digital Service Providers
  • Cloud Service Providers
  • CHANNEL PARTNERS ONLINE
 Channel Futures

Open Source


Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump

Which Open Source Linux Distributions Would Presidential Hopefuls Run?

  • Written by Christopher Tozzi
  • August 17, 2015

If people running for president used Linux or another open source operating system, which distribution would it be? That's a key question that the rest of the press—distracted by issues of questionable relevance such as "policy platforms" and whether it's appropriate to add an exclamation point to one's Christian name—has been ignoring. But the ignorance ends here: Read on for this sometime-journalist's take on presidential elections and Linux distributions.

If people running for president used Linux or another open source operating system, which distribution would it be? That’s a key question that the rest of the press—distracted by issues of questionable relevance such as “policy platforms” and whether it’s appropriate to add an exclamation point to one’s Christian name—has been ignoring. But the ignorance ends here: Read on for this sometime-journalist’s take on presidential elections and Linux distributions.

If this sounds like a familiar topic to those of you who have been reading my drivel for years (is anyone, other than my dear editor, unfortunate enough to have actually done that?), it’s because I wrote a similar post during the last presidential election cycle. Some kind readers took that article more seriously than I intended, so I’ll take a moment to point out that I don’t actually believe that open source software and political campaigns have anything meaningful to do with one another. I am just trying to amuse myself at the start of a new week.

But you can make of this what you will. You’re the reader, after all.

Linux Distributions of Choice: Republicans

Today, I’ll cover just the Republicans. And I won’t even discuss all of them, since the candidates hoping for the Republican party’s nomination are too numerous to cover fully here in one post. But for starters:

If Jeb (Jeb!?) Bush ran Linux, it would be Debian. It’s a relatively boring distribution designed for serious, grown-up hackers—the kind who see it as their mission to be the adults in the pack and clean up the messes that less-experienced open source fans create. Of course, this also makes Debian relatively unexciting, and its user base remains perennially small as a result.

Scott Walker, for his part, would be a Damn Small Linux (DSL) user. Requiring merely 50MB of disk space and 16MB of RAM to run, DSL can breathe new life into 20-year-old 486 computers—which is exactly what a cost-cutting guru like Walker would want. Of course, the user experience you get from DSL is damn primitive; the platform barely runs a browser. But at least you won’t be wasting money on new computer hardware when the stuff you bought in 1993 can still serve you perfectly well.

How about Chris Christie? He’d obviously be clinging to Relax-and-Recover Linux, which bills itself as a “setup-and-forget Linux bare metal disaster recovery solution.” “Setup-and-forget” has basically been Christie’s political strategy ever since that unfortunate incident on the George Washington Bridge stymied his political momentum. Disaster recovery may or may not bring back everything for Christie in the end, but at least he might succeed in recovering a confidential email or two that accidentally disappeared when his computer crashed.

As for Carly Fiorina, she’d no doubt be using software developed for “The Machine” operating system from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), the company she led from 1999 to 2005. The Machine actually may run several different operating systems, which may or may not be based on Linux—details remain unclear—and its development began well after Fiorina’s tenure at HP came to a conclusion. Still, her roots as a successful executive in the IT world form an important part of her profile today, meaning that her ties to HP have hardly been severed fully.

Last but not least—and you knew this was coming—there’s Donald Trump. He’d most likely pay a team of elite hackers millions of dollars to custom-build an operating system just for him—even though he could obtain a perfectly good, ready-made operating system for free—to show off how much money he has to waste. He’d then brag about it being the best operating system ever made, though it would of course not be compliant with POSIX or anything else, because that would mean catering to the establishment. The platform would also be totally undocumented, since, if Trump explained how his operating system actually worked, he’d risk giving away all his secrets to the Islamic State—obviously.

Alternatively, if Trump had to go with a Linux platform already out there, Ubuntu seems like the most obvious choice. Like Trump, the Ubuntu developers have taken a we-do-what-we-want approach to building open source software by implementing their own, sometimes proprietary applications and interfaces. Free-software purists hate Ubuntu for that, but plenty of ordinary people like it a lot. Of course, whether playing purely by your own rules—in the realms of either software or politics—is sustainable in the long run remains to be seen.

Stay Tuned

If you’re wondering why I haven’t yet mentioned the Democratic candidates, worry not. I am not leaving them out of today’s writing because I like them any more or less than the Republicans. (Personally, I think the peculiar American practice of having only two viable political parties—which virtually no other functioning democracy does—is ridiculous, and I am suspicious of all of these candidates as a result.)

On the contrary, there’s plenty to say about the Linux distributions the Democrats might use, too. And I will, in a future post. Stay tuned.

Tags: Cloud Service Providers Digital Service Providers MSPs VARs/SIs Open Source

Related


  • Build a Cloud
    IBM’s Hybrid Cloud Build Team Helps Partners ‘Like Never Before’
    Big Blue is betting big on hybrid cloud. Now it’s helping the channel bring those environments to life, fast.
  • Roll out
    Linux Security Provider Capsule8 Rolls Out First Partner Program
    The program will help Capsule8 build upon its existing market momentum.
  • Channel Chief
    EMC, Cisco Vet Named SoftIron Channel Chief
    SoftIron is a challenger in the data center appliances industry.
  • Cloud security
    Rapid7 Acquires Kubernetes Security Provider Alcide to Increase Cloud Security
    This is Rapid7's second cloud security acquisition in the past nine months.

9 comments

  1. Avatar Scott Dowdle August 17, 2015 @ 8:45 pm
    Reply

    So far as I know, Damn Small
    So far as I know, Damn Small Linux (DSL) doesn’t exist anymore.

  2. Avatar Anonymous August 18, 2015 @ 7:52 am
    Reply

    I’m not sure any Republican
    I’m not sure any Republican would run Linux, would they? They’re only interested in businesses that make large profits. :/

    • Avatar Anonymous August 19, 2015 @ 2:18 am
      Reply

      That’s pretty small minded,
      That’s pretty small minded, you’re serious ?

    • Avatar Anonymous August 19, 2015 @ 2:35 pm
      Reply

      They’d use Red Hat
      They’d use Red Hat

  3. Avatar Anonymous August 19, 2015 @ 1:44 am
    Reply

    Conservatives/Libertarians
    Conservatives/Libertarians that revere the Constitution, and value their privacy, rights, and freedoms would certainly use Linux.

    Unfortunately, the career Republicans and Democrats and not much different in those respects.

    Certainly Linux can generate huge profits. What do you think runs the NY Stock Exchange?

    If you think Democrats aren’t interested in profits, why are they all multi-millionaires? Make no mistake, they all pervert Capitalism to enrich themselves, and their cronies.

  4. Avatar Anonymous August 19, 2015 @ 4:48 pm
    Reply

    You *will* be discussing the
    You *will* be discussing the Libertarian candidates, won’t you?

  5. Avatar Independent August 19, 2015 @ 7:33 pm
    Reply

    Republicans are just fine
    Republicans are just fine with Linux running supercomputers in large data centers to make more profits without paying Windows tax. What worries me more is the Secretary of state running hackable Windows in her home closet! The whole article is STUPID!

  6. Avatar Anonymous August 27, 2015 @ 10:00 pm
    Reply

    Everybody knows that open
    Everybody knows that open source is communism… Republicans might run Linux, but they’d deny it you asked. Kinda like Mac OS X, but that’s too stylish for the flat earth base. What’s a proprietary OS from the past that nobody wants to use anymore…. IBM OS/2 WARP? Perfect. God Bless America.

  7. Avatar Anonymous May 26, 2017 @ 6:46 pm
    Reply

    no dem’s? i’d love to kw the
    no dem’s? i’d love to kw the choice of Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your Channel Futures account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • AWS Still Chasing JEDI, Blasts Trump Administration Again
  • AWS Partners Flooded with New Capabilities, Opportunities at re:Invent
  • Centreon Partners Get Access to Reinvented Partner Program
  • Commvault Kubernetes Focus Expands with New Metallic Offer for Containers

Galleries

View all

Channel Partners Virtual 2021 Is the Hottest Ticket in Town

February 26, 2021

Industry Perspectives

View all

The “Roaring 20s” Are Coming

February 25, 2021

Three Ways MSPs Can Improve Supply Chain Security

February 24, 2021

SASE: The Key to Mitigating Business Transformation Risk

February 22, 2021

Webinars

View all

A Partner’s Perspective on Channel Success in 2021

March 17, 2021

XDR and Why it Matters to MSPs

March 24, 2021

Top Security Trends Impacting Technology Security Providers In 2021

March 25, 2021

White Papers

View all

Ready To Add Cutting Edge IoT Solutions To Your Portfolio?

  • 1
February 25, 2021

What Is The Value Of Distribution For The Internet Of Things?

February 25, 2021

The Internet of Things (IoT): Where do You Begin?

  • 1
February 25, 2021

Upcoming Events

View all

Channel Partners Virtual

March 2, 2021 - March 4, 2021

Channel Partners Conference & Expo

November 1, 2021 - November 4, 2021

Videos and Fastchats

View all

FASTCHAT: How SOAR Eliminates Security Challenges and Elevates Service Provider Revenues

January 6, 2021

Happy Holidays from Channel Partners & Channel Futures!

December 21, 2020

FASTCHAT: How Old, Unpatched Technologies Are Creating New Security Threats for MSPs and Their Customers

December 3, 2020

Twitter

ChannelFutures

Amazon WorkSpaces @awscloud DaaS client will be available on @IGEL_Technology virtual endpoint client OS.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@VMware cutting more workers in California as part of ongoing #workforcerebalancing. #layoffs… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

#CPVirtual is March 2-4. It’s the hottest ticket in town — any town, since it’s 100% online — so make sure you have… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

.@datto, @ThreatLocker partner to streamline #MSP secure business operations. dlvr.it/RtYvJK https://t.co/nKGnwbblNO

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

Infographic: Why Partner with Sierra Wireless and GetWireless? dlvr.it/RtYh1m https://t.co/KcBFzXIx7l

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

Infographic: The Sierra Wireless Essential Series dlvr.it/RtYgxv https://t.co/CatxbRHzXr

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

#Threatprotection is no small matter for #MSSPs. Find out what vendors say you have to do this year to protect your… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021
ChannelFutures

Cloud strategies and cybersecurity are key, and #COVID19 will have more impact than #Brexit on U.K. channel, says… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

February 26, 2021

MSSP Insider

Newsletters and Updates

Sign up for The Channel Report, Channel Futures Update, MSP 501 Newsletter and more.

Live Channel Events

Get the latest information on the next industry-leading Channel Partners event.

Channel Partners Online

Want more? Find more channel news and analysis on our sister site, Channel Partners.

Media Kit And Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • Channel Partners Online
  • Channel Partners Events
  • MSP 501
  • MSSP Insider
  • IoT World Today
  • Webhostingtalk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About us
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter

FOLLOW Channel Futures ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X