

"Why Linux Sucks" and "Why Linux Does Not Suck" videos from Linux Fest - BryanLunduke
http://lunduke.com/?p=2953

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Locke1689
Keep in mind that the points in the second are the same as the points in the
first, just with a different perspective.

I think this mostly works OK except for one area: package format. The
disparate package management in Linux is indefensible because it weakens the
entire development ecosystem. One thing that hugely hurts the package
management in Linux is that package format disparity means that the tooling
for package management is far inferior to what it could be. The Linux package
managers could be the single greatest tool for developers, but instead we have
increased fracture over the entire ecosystem.

One of the biggest problems is the inability for the package managers to
integrate with language-specific packages. Gem/pip/cabal cause an extremely
obnoxious fracture because they all have dependencies which can't be tracked
without an OS package manager but at the same time the OS package manager
can't integrate with them. If Linux could decide on a single package format
and packaging tool then we could all start working on tooling to support
integration of the different language packages. However, as long as there are
still 3-4 major package formats and packaging tools that's not going to
happen.

Added to that are the package managers reliance on specific OS constructs.
Homebrew works but we really shouldn't have to use different package managers
just because we're on a different operating system. Either the package
supports that OS or it doesn't, but this shouldn't say anything about the
_package manager_.

Aside from all of this is the difficulty in actually constructing the
packages. Arch PKGBUILDs seem the closest I've used to an easy source->binary
package but they're not mainstream. As far as I know debs still don't support
natively bundling the source with the binaries and the RPM SPEC system is the
single unfriendliest system I've encountered to quickly make a portable
package. Moreover, the ties to shell script just continue to harm OS
independent adoption.

I'm not sure what the answer is but I'm starting to think the only acceptable
solution is a complete severing of Linux distributions with package
management.

~~~
Aqueous
On a somewhat related note: Why do 99% of the things that are packaged by
Ubuntu (or any distribution) need to be packaged at all, let alone by the
distribution?

A lot of the lack of focus (and fragmentation) in Linux comes from people
duplicating each others' work. There is absolutely no need to have hundreds -
thousands? - of developers spending their valuable time packaging up software
when the app developers could do it just as well - or better, on account of
_knowing_ the software that they are packaging. People who work or volunteer
for the OS developer should instead be writing new features for (and generally
improving) the user experience of their respective distributions, not taking
other peoples' software and making it work like it should already.

Two words: app bundle. Developers handle their own packaging. Bundles include
dependencies. The end.

~~~
ajross
And who packages glibc? Or udev? Or zlib (which is so quirky that it almost
doesn't build at all out of the upstream source). That's where the packaging
bandwidth is spent in the distributions: middleware. Certainly not "apps",
which are generally trivial to build as long as you have the dependencies
correct. Take a look at, for example, the Fedora spec files for the software
you use vs. the middleware and see the difference in complexity.

And note that Android's (which I assume is what you're referring to when you
talk about "app bundles") middleware packaging is no less complicated
(honestly it's a lot more so in a lot of ways -- no firm dependency tracking,
everything must build all at once). Check the AOSP "external" tree.

~~~
Aqueous
I'd expect that like other OSes core dependencies would still be managed by
the distributor. But these are nothing but the barest essentials to making the
OS work. I count udev, and glibc, and zlib among these. Mac OS X does this.
But these are very few in number compared to the number of total packages that
are stored on, for example, Ubuntu's repositories.

If the price of having apps that just download and work on any distribution is
having a more complicated middleware system, then I'll take it.

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mladenkovacevic
Kickstarter sounds like a viable option for bringing more software to Linux if
only for the reason that it's attracting a lot of attention lately.

There is a danger of this making Linux a second-priority OS but it pretty much
is already so I don't know if this is a huge issue. A team behind a proven
software for Windows or OSX could say "Hey look we've made this great tool for
Windows/OSX users and made a lot of money on it.. We'll bring it to Linux if
we raise X amount of dollars". The Linux users are significant enough and
generous enough (as proven by the humble bundles) that it would work
financially and would make the Linux ecosystem explode with new variety.

Open source developers on the other hand might find it easier to raise funds
and continue to hack away on their projects with a similar solution. The
Ardour developer could go on an open-sourced version of Kickstarter and say
"Hey guys I've developed this awesome audio software that a lot of people use.
Here are the features I'd like to bring to the next version.... I need to
raise 100K in order to be able to continue working on this."

~~~
glogla
This is why I'm excited about Light Table, even though I don't think I'll ever
use clojure or javascript much. The author also experiments with kind of
humble bundle licensing.

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drostie
I'm so glad that I watched the first of these, and I think I will also enjoy
the second. Since it required a bit of searching due to the very short mention
at the end, the "Vivaldi" KDE tablet can be found at
<http://makeplaylive.com/> , which cites a "target retail price of €200" for
the tablet stack.

Related to this, I have been helping seed the torrents and distribution of a
new flavor of Kubuntu called Kubuntu Active, which can be found at
[http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu-
active/releases/precise/re...](http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/kubuntu-
active/releases/precise/release/) . Like the Vivaldi tablet mentioned, it's
based on the KDE Active stack and is thus optimized for touchscreens. I'm
going to try this live CD out on my convertible tablet PC, once I can find a
CD to burn it to. I was already very surprised to find that six months ago my
upgrades magically enabled multitouch, but at the time it seemed like the only
multitouch gesture anyone had programmed for was pinch-to-zoom in KDE.

Since it might also be relevant, in the vein of "send money to support
businesses which ship Linux," shortly after I bought my current Fujitsu laptop
I found a nice company selling Linux laptops called System 76:
<https://www.system76.com/> . While they don't seem to be selling convertible
touchscreens yet, they do make some very pretty and cost-effective laptop
options. (Full disclosure: I am plugging them in part because I want them to
stay in business, because I want to buy from them whenever I need my next
laptop.)

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Karunamon
The guy who gave this talk has a really fun weekly show that I've been
addicted to as of late. The Linux Action Show, most recent one here:
[http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/18887/ubuntu-12-04-review...](http://www.jupiterbroadcasting.com/18887/ubuntu-12-04-review-
las-s21e06/)

They do a live show on Sunday and put the recording out the next day. Today's
will be on in about 40 minutes from now (1:00P EST)

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TazeTSchnitzel
I came expecting the latter would be in response to the first by another
person. Nope. It's the same guy taking the opposite perspective on every point
in the first.

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Xyzodiac
Someone needs to send Chris a damn tripod!

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sunyc
Can we agree on a standard Linux directory structure first?

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noahjk
How hard is it to hold a camera steady..?

~~~
greyfade
Pretty hard without a tripod. I don't know why Chris didn't bring one.

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AlexFromBelgium
God bless ya, bryan :p

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georgieporgie
That video gave me motion sickness, and I couldn't see the slides very well.

