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>>Everything has to be commercial to get any form of backing or support,
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>Not true, since there is a lot of support for Linux at this time.

That was my point, Linux only got used and hence increase support, because a few businesses threw some money behind it.
You have only to refer to the infamous Linus T post first announcing Linux that it was never planned to be an actual competitor to anything,
Im sure there were 100's of basic Unix rip offs, and Linux may well of been the best, it is just that Linux get the support from both the techies on the net, and the business people with money. And probably enough so that it will self perpetuate now as an OpenSource application without the need of financial backing of the likes of IBM, etc.

But for software starting up, it is very unlikely it will ever get this support, and hence get itself into a position where enough people are using it that there is a demand to keep developing it.