Rev for Linux "Seal of Approval"

[Graham Samuel]

As someone who has only used any kind of Unix in a protected  
environment (I mean protected by human beings, who provided me with a  
WIMP interface to keep me quiet), I am quietly horrified by this  
discussion. If there are so many different flavours of the thing  
(distros and maybe even more signs of divergence - I mean, I don't  
even know what RunRev mean on the web site when they say "Revolution  
supports Unix, Linux,..."), what remains constant? How can the *nix  
world really expect to take over the desktop if an ordinary punter  
(at whatever level of need or professionalism) can't tell if their  
software/ hardware/ UI/ interoperability is likely to be catered for?  
Have I got this completely wrong? How can diversity be its strength,  
as some are saying? Doesn't that mean that any support resources -  
free or paid for - will be stretched infinitely thin?

This is relevant to Rev insofar as what has been discussed in this  
thread seems to point to a bottomless pit of resource requirements  
for the unfortunate developers of Runtime Revolution.  If this  
perception even partly reflects reality, then the "Seal of Approval"  
idea sounds great to me, simply because it means that scarce  
resources will be concentrated in fewer areas.

Can someone who has no 'religious position' on a particular flavour  
of Unix clarify this for the rest of us?

Graham

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Graham Samuel / The Living Fossil Co. / UK and France