This sort of thinking strikes me as shortsighted. Ubuntu seems to be getting flack for not having competency in kernel development. And yet, Ubuntu has got to be responsible for driving 10x as much Linux adoption as ext4 or whatever other technical feature you like. There are a lot of people who can write drivers. To date, there is only one company that has even come close to pushing Linux into the mainstream. The benefits of that are very diffuse, but they probably include, yes, more overall kernel developers! Rather than attacking them for not having the wherewithall to crank out kernel patches, we should be thanking them. They bring something to the table that literally noone else has. Even Ted Tso, who is a serious badass, cannot say that.
Hackers working for Google, Red Hat and Novell aren't setting their day to day priorities around increasing Linux adoption. They're interested in making money for Google, Red Hat and Novell.
With Google, I can maybe see your point. But how anybody can argue that Red Hat & Novell's fortunes are not tied to Linux adoption rates, is beyond me.
