‘Linux of online learning’: edX and Stanford build open source platform

I know "X for Y" descriptions can be useful shorthand, but "Linux of online learning"? Really?<p>I know many HNers groaned at yesterday's Morozov essay, but we might do well for ourselves if we take some of the buzzwords back a notch or two. It would go a long way towards preserving the meaning and significance of important words. If anything that is "open" can be "the Linux of something," then what is Linux?

Has anyone actually seen the source code for edx? They claimed that they would release it. I don't see a repository on Github or anywhere else.

There are a fair number of these open source learning management systems. A small list is here: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_learning_management_systems" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_learning_management_sys...</a><p>How is this different from any of these?

Hm, I wonder why they didn't check out instructure.<p><a href="https://github.com/instructure/canvas-lms" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/instructure/canvas-lms</a><p>It's open source, and there's a paid arm of it for universities to outsource their IT needs.

This is surely going to screw over Udacity and Coursera.

I'd like to see Joel Spolsky do online learning. One of the startups in this area should get him as an advisor and do a weekly podcast with him.