Using the GPL doesn't guarantee you that your project will take over the world. Using a BSD licence doesn't automatically doom your project. But in the case of the Linux kernel, its use of the GPL appears to be the reason for its success - it's not that it always had compelling technical advantages over BSD.
This is Torvalds' idea, not mine [0] (though he doesn't speak to Linux-vs-BSD directly)
> Sure, Sony doesn't give back - but eg Juniper does.
But in aggregate, Linux has taken over the world, and BSD hasn't. The 'snowball' effect is real.
Then again, it didn’t help GNU Hurd, or othe GPL-licensed systems. So my guess - given a number of examples - is that it’s not the license that helped Linux.
This is Torvalds' idea, not mine [0] (though he doesn't speak to Linux-vs-BSD directly)
> Sure, Sony doesn't give back - but eg Juniper does.
But in aggregate, Linux has taken over the world, and BSD hasn't. The 'snowball' effect is real.
[0] https://www.cio.com/article/3112582/linux/linus-torvalds-say...