Certain proprietary vendors have long liked to criticize Linux for its lack
of a "roadmap," a multi-year plan with release dates and included
features.  Without such a roadmap, they say, customers have no idea where
the technology is going, cannot plan for the future, and have no assurance
that needed features and capabilities will be built into Linux.  This
Information Week article is the latest contribution to this debate; the
way the Linux kernel is developed, says the author, "...makes it
even harder for technology professionals using Linux to plan around one
major release that's, say, 18 months down the road."  The lack of a
roadmap is said to be a sign that the kernel development process has not
yet "grown up."