It's particularly interesting to people like me (and I suspect many others on HN), because we straddle the line ("wear many hats"). I personally love crazy ideas (everything is a file! No, really, look at Plan9!) and wild research directions. But for my day to day work, where I have to ship? Linux just works. But I also like having options, both to play with (personal) and to solve problems (work). In many respects, Linux already has enough flexibility and options to satisfy me.
As for fragmentation, get used to it; it's part of the job. Things are more unified now than they've ever been, it might not stay that way, and one of the major thrusts of the OP (and many comments here) is that there may be too much unification, and not enough variety and options.
As for fragmentation, get used to it; it's part of the job. Things are more unified now than they've ever been, it might not stay that way, and one of the major thrusts of the OP (and many comments here) is that there may be too much unification, and not enough variety and options.