This is what the Linux Standard Base (LSB) project is aiming to, and we are working on this together with the other distributors. It just takes some more time, it's a huge project. Have a look at <A HREF="http://www.linuxbase.org/"><A HREF="http://www.linuxbase.org/</A">http://www.linuxbase.org/ for further info.
LSB is a nice effort. It may or may not succeed. What I'm worrying about is that for the average person, Linux == RedHat and more so if it comes preinstalled. Who will you sell an upgrade to if the people only knows another distro? - To get out of this list, please send email to majordomo@suse.com with this text in its body: unsubscribe suse-linux-e Check out the SuSE-FAQ at <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/"><A HREF="http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/</A">http://www.suse.com/Support/Doku/FAQ/ and the archiv at <A HREF="http://www.suse.com/Mailinglists/suse-linux-e/index.html"><A HREF="http://www.suse.com/Mailinglists/suse-linux-e/index.html</A">http://www.suse.com/Mailinglists/suse-linux-e/index.html