I think Linux is a prime example of innovation. Yes, it first started as a UNIX clone, then basically took over and killed all competition, starting with x86 and then practically all other platforms, with very specific exceptions.
What used to be a UNIX clone decades ago is now a testbed of all new technologies you can imagine in an operating system. And if some cool tech cannot be implemented in Linux for design reasons (e.g. a microkernel or a unikernel), a separate project is started.
But most of them are still copies of FreeBSD, Solaris, and Plan9 stuff. Something particularly innovative in Linux?
> Open source often does create ecosystems that encourage many small-scale innovations, but while bolder innovations do widely exist at the early experimental stages, they often fail to be refined to the point of usefulness in large-scale adoption.
You can argue that, for example, KVM is a clone of something else. However, it's because of not stopping at an early stage KVM is now a mature and insanely popular technology.
And most of them are copies of age old Fortran stuff. Linux itself is a UNIX clone. Gnome/KDE started as Windows clones. Where's the "tech innovation" in that?