Dec 08, 2011 12:25am GMT
Free riders, people who contribute nothing to the software they use, are to free and open source software (FOSS) what illegal downloaders are to the Recording Industry Association of America. They're people who are perceived as getting away with something, and are the subject of periodic rants. Really, though, I don't see what the fuss is about.Yes, FOSS projects might be better off if everyone... more »
Back to the Future with GNOME Shell ExtensionsDec 02, 2011 10:23pm GMT
When GNOME 3 was released, the marketing material emphasized how the new interface was uncluttered and contained nothing that users didn't need. In effect, the advertising copy was a repudiation of everything that the GNOME 2 series had become after seventeen incremental releases in nine years. A praiseworthy cleanup, you might imagine. So why are most of the extensions for GNOME 3 designed to... more »
Occupy Your ComputerNov 25, 2011 9:37pm GMT
As I write, many of the local Occupy movements are ending. They'll almost certainly be back, since the problems they address haven't been solved even slightly. Meanwhile, however, you might want to remind yourself just how radical an idea free technology and culture can be, and consider whether they should be part of the movements.I make this statement partly because, while free technologies do... more »
Bar camps, not conferencesNov 17, 2011 1:41am GMT
Last week, ApacheCon hit Vancouver. I duly attended, but a chronic knee problem forced me to sit out most of the conference at home. But I did manage to limp to the bar camp on the Saturday, so I only feel mildly short-changed.Bar camps, as you may know, began in 2005 as a democratic alternative to O'Reilly Associate's Foo Camp. Short for "friends of O'Reilly," Foo Camp is an invitati... more »
A Disturbing Dialog About Ubuntu and Unity, Part 2Nov 08, 2011 11:19pm GMT
Last week, I wrote about an exchange between Mark Shuttleworth and bug-filer Tal Liron and others. The blog entry has attracted several dozen comments here, plus a number more on Facebook and Google+ and privately. In fact, they're still trickling in, so I thought that some of the thoughts and sentiments expressed deserved some answers, at least in general terms:Unity stinks! / Unity rocks!You... more »
A Disturbing Dialog About Ubuntu and UnityNov 02, 2011 10:31pm GMT
Curious about how design decisions are made for Ubuntu's Unity? About how the development team reacts to criticisms of its efforts? If you are, then a moment of unusual -- and troubling -- clarity emerged last week on Launchpad, Canonical's development site.The moment takes the form of Bug #882274, filed by Tal Liron under the title "Community engagement is broken." Although other peo... more »
The Survey That GNOME Would Rather IgnoreOct 27, 2011 11:38pm GMT
As you may have seen, the Phoronix site is hosting a private survey about GNOME. The survey still has several weeks to run, but, so far, neither the circumstances surrounding the survey or the replies show the GNOME project in a favorable perspective.The survey was begun by Felipe Contreras, who first raised the idea back in July on the GNOME desktop-devel mailing list. "Lately I've [been]... more »
