[rox-users] OT: elaborat (was: Re: Zero Install survey results)

[Kacper W. <ka...@on...>]

On 10/13/07, Liam Proven <lp...@gm...> wrote:
> On 13/10/2007, Kacper Wysocki <ka...@on...> wrote:
> > On 10/13/07, Liam Proven <lp...@gm...> wrote:
> > > On 13/10/2007, Thomas Leonard <ta...@gm...> wrote:
> > > > I've (finally!) finished writing up the results of the Zero Install=
 Survey:
> > > >   http://0install.net/survey.html
> > > > Random summary:
> > > > * People mainly use it to run ROX applications
> > > > * Ubuntu is incredibly popular
[snipmore]
> > > I think I've said that before? :=AC)
> > >
> > > It's completely free, it's easy, it's clean - not burdened with masse=
s
> > > of choices and loads of redundancy - and it has an excellent support
> > > community. What more can you ask?
> > >
> > > I'm finding it increasingly hard to even find a reason to look at any
> > > other distro.
> >
> > Ubuntu developers taking decisions that make things easy for them and
> > hard for software developers and distros [*]- that, and distro
> > monoculture will lead Ubuntu to be another RedHat.
> >
> > Not to say that Ubuntu isn't a great distro!
> >
> >
> > [*] ref. dash as /bin/sh, compiz on by default, package fudges in
> > restricted-modules, etc etc
>
> Interesting. I've never heard such comments before. Can you elaborate?

Depends whether you want me to elaborate on RedHat's popularity and
development shortcuts leading to massive incompatibilites, and in the
end damages to the interoperability of linux software, or the
parallels that can be drawn to ubuntu's development track, which is
evident after a little browsing of ubuntu mailinglist archives and
wontfix/old-but-still-"new" bugs.

Ubuntu has done good things for gnome, debian, and the end user
environment in general. Ditto RedHat, led by corporate interests and
brilliant developers with blimplike egos, these companies lead unix
where it has never been before, and finally put people to do the jobs
that a free community wouldn't even consider doing. Corporate
interests and big egoes unfortunately also lead us back into the dark
ages of nonexistant interoperability.

People who still use RedHat are either forced to ( it's all I know /
it was an "executive decision" / we pay for the support ) or just
plain don't know better. RH introduces *binariy* incompatabilites*
which 3rd party software developers have to support to this day.

I have yet to figure out why anyone would voluntarily install Fedora
Core considering the administration nightmare it creates- yay let's
stick bleeding edge software on an ISO with a pretty installer and
provide a complete reinstall as the only viable upgrade path.

Ubuntu has none of these problems, but the new editions are gaining
their very own new interoperability issues. As ubuntu gains critical
mass these issues will / already are causing serious problems for 3rd
party software developers and fringe distros.

Shit, or maybe you had something entirely different in mind?

> By direct email, if you wish, as this is rather offtopic.

Not as a rule, no.

--=20
http://kacper.doesntexist.org
Though you may see heaven or hell,  remember that it is your mind
which creates them. Avoid grasping the one or fleeing the other.