Fedora Does Real World Work. Debian is for Hobbyists

It's interesting to watch the pace of change with Linux on the Desktop.

Want technology on the leading edge?  Fedora is here today with best of breed solutions, all of which merge to Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the largest commercial Linux Distribution in the World.

Fedora was first to implement systemd.

Fedora is first with a robust implementation of state of the art technologies including rpm-ostree and Docker on their Project Atomic platform.  And, Cockpit eases the process of managing servers and containers in the cloud via a unified web management interface.

You see, at release 21, Fedora split into server, workstation, and cloud divisions.

The transition was amazingly uneventful, due to Red Hat's senior guidance and the incredibly hard work done by the Fedora Team coordinated with upstream GNOME Project.

Fedora takes what they do very seriously and when it comes to meeting target milestones, they galvanize into action and meet them in a timely business-like fashion. 

Every time Debian runs into delays, that pushes back Canonical's Ubuntu milestones who hitched their wagon to Debian and delays get passed in turn down the line to the rest of the Ubuntu derivatives who hitched their wagons to Ubuntu.  It's a serious problem, particularly for Canonical Ltd. who are trying to run a business.

No, the real work is done by Red Hat/Fedora in the business world.  No messing around.  No divisiveness, stalling, stonewalling.  Tasks move along with rhythm and cadence, all oarsmen stroking to a beat, following directions and executing them as ordered in synchronous precision.


Debian is the proverbial speed-bump on the road to innovation and with an 18 month release cycle nothing gets done in a hurry.

Debian devotees won't like to read this but, Debian isn't behaving like a professional Distro should.  They allow themselves the luxury of procrastination and all the while 'make pretend' some highly technical issue must be considered before embarking on any kind of work.  I call it 'work avoidance'.  Because, that is really what it is under a veil of techno-speak designed to obfuscate what is or isn't really happening in their hallowed organization.  If they are to survive, a radical change must be made to their release management policy.

The real world can't afford to behave like 'hobbyists'.  The real world won't wait.  Debian is falling farther behind, but that's okay as far as they are concerned.

The work will get done.  Eventually.  

Fedora does the real-world work.  Debian is for hobbyists.  -- Dietrich

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Bodhi Linux Developer Retires

( Image Credit: Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam )

The solo developer of Bodhi Linux has announced his retirement.

I sincerely wish +Jeff Hoogland  well.  It's not difficult to appreciate that putting together a truly polished Linux Distro is hard, but by one developer, it seems almost an impossible task.  

One Mr. Hoogland set out to do so and I will say that by all accounts he has been a success.  Bodhi Linux has always been a 'standout' Distribution in my view and well respected.  Bodh Linux's level of consistency typically requires a rank and file of workers to make for polish, fit, finish and seamless processes.  Bodhi Linux has become perhaps the best known lightweight Linux Distro.  CrunchBang is perhaps the only other true contender in this category.

Yet, I fear that we will see more of this attrition and with increased frequency.

As geopolitical events unfold and the global economy gets worse by the day, it becomes increasingly difficult for the individual to merely 'exist', much less, do voluntary work on a project of this magnitude.

Yes, if you are lucky, another developer will pick up and continue with Bodhi maintenance.  If you aren't, well, that is the nature of things in today's world.

Linux on the Desktop is much like a garden, if you will.  It requires true dedication, constant attention and nurturing.  Looking at Distrowatch, one sees a wide array of choices.  Some flowers in the garden are hardy, and even perennial flowering all year round giving manifold benefits to the Linux User community.

Indeed, there is much freedom of choice.  But with choice comes risk.  One such risk is that many Distros by default create newcomer confusion.  The immediate question becomes, "Which one is best?"  All one need do is ask and there will be no shortage of opinion offered to help out.  Getting answers to questions with Linux has always been one of its cornerstones and those who maintain support forums are there to help.  This has always been one of the great benefits of Linux.  That hasn't changed.

What has changed?  The pure number of Distros has grown as more developers obtain toolchains which facilitate cloning their own 'me too' Distro.  This is done mostly with good intentions.  It's part of the Gnu Public License and encouraged.

But, the by-product has yielded a side-effect I call Distro-Sprawl.  As such, it has become increasingly difficult for users to come to a quick answer as to which Distro they should use.

Despite, Bodhi Linux points to another important issue:  Ongoing Support.

When researching which Distro to use, make not just looking at the feature set a consideration.  Look also at the number of people involved in support.  If it's one or two people, that doesn't mean it isn't a good Distro.  Far from it, Bodhi is the exemplar.  But, the longevity of that Distro is put at risk when there are fewer to support it.  And thus, we see here yet another developer finds himself in the throws of life circumstance with not enough 'bandwidth' to devote to his open source development pursuits.  The critical decision is made to pull the plug.  The developer retires.  You are left high and dry.

It doesn't have to be that way if you look at the top 5 Distributions on Distrowatch.  Those are the hardy flowers in the garden.  Those flowers have many gardeners who cultivate and nurture them so as to remain healthy, lush and full.

I encourage developers not to spread themselves 'thin' across vaguely familiar Distros.  Come on board one of the larger Top 5 Distros and put your talent towards something which will be long-lasting and meaningful.  -- Dietrich

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The Linux Distro Repository System Safety Assurance

(Image credit: ablogabouthistory.com)

THE LINUX DISTRIBUTION REPOSITORY CONCEPT

Most people don't give a thought to this subject.  In fact, with Legacy Windows (x86), including Windows 8.1, there is no such concept as a 'repository'.

Every Linux Distribution (call it a 'flavor' if that helps), provides its own repository.  What is a repository?  Imagine a Castle (Library of Applications) with a moat around it and a draw bridge.  Only keyholders can get in and get out.

The keyholder conceptually is provided by a technology used extensively with Linux, called GNU Privacy Guard (GnuPG or GPG for short).  The idea is to guard all software in the library to assure that no 'tampering' can ever occur.  Tampering scenarios include adding rogue software (applications with hidden trojan viruses), unauthorized code edits which have negative repurcussions and usually include software exploits, such as the kind that politely advises the user that their drive is now officially encrypted/locked and cannot be used unless a monetary consideration (extortion) is provided that will cause the encryption to be unlocked (CryptoLocker being one such application aka Ransomware targets Windows, not Linux).

This GPG technology allows each piece of software in the Library to be linked to your Linux on the Desktop GPG-keyring and will not install, per se, unless it can be unlocked by your Desktop keyring (Fedora is my Distribution of choice).

The advantage is clear.  The maintainers of the repository for your Distribution are thus able to  maintain strict control over who can contribute code, vetting of software and the author's background, all done to assure that the program being considered for acceptance into the Library is safe for general use, devoid of any rogue code.

The absence of a repository of protected software applications has been an historic security problem of endemic proportions for Microsoft who must continually apply Zero-Day security patches to the operating system once a month to thwart introduction of rogue software onto the operating system.  It is a hopeless, unending situation and the fact that such software as CryptoLocker and Stuxnet exist should be a flashing neon roadside billboard to the average user, but, sadly isn't.  The public is bamboozled and has bought into the accepted practice  of running third-party Anti-Virus software, lulled by its false sense of security and done by the user at their additional out-of-pocket expense for purchasing said software, time and effort.  

Indeed, the Windows Legacy security software business produces multi-billion annual sales all of which does nothing to deflect a Drive-by Download, for example.  The user won't see it, but their machine is infected and there isn't anything they or Microsoft can do about it, short of a complete redesign effort which has gone into their ARM processor based product which has suffered languishing sales.

Below is my system running an update download from the GPG keyring-protected repository at Fedora.  If you run automated updates, this will occur daily with Linux, not monthly as Microsoft does on Patch Tuesday.

Fedora Linux:  The safest operating system on the Planet

Users of Windows Legacy must therefore 'fend for themselves' and go into the 'wild' so to speak in search of software, whatever that may be, with no assurance that it isn't laden with trojans ready to deploy silently, unbeknownst to the victim user, who believes they have found a nice game program, for example.

You may think things are safe with Windows.  They are not.

Fedora Linux: The safest operating system on the Planet.

I stake my reputation on it.  -- Dietrich

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Linux Desktop Application Development Flounders

You know, I have been trying to remain objective on this topic and have debated whether or not it would be constructive to write a post for going on several months now. (Image credit: illustrationsource.com)

Each day I survey the news pan-handling for those 'nuggets' that would indicate someone out there is 'thinking' and actually innovating on the Linux Desktop.  When I sort through the chaff of daily trumpeting of the newest Distro cookie cutter 'me too!' clone, I come up with scant information on new software development for specifically the Linux Desktop market.

Okay, you are grumbling.  You see, being an Advocate doesn't mean I will feed you platitudes and say 'nice things' all the time.  Quite the opposite.  I take a critical eye to what is, or in case of this story, isn't going on with Linux.

I don't get as excited about Linux on the Desktop (LoD).  Where are the killer apps?

Close your eyes and what do you see?  Heh.  Yep.  Nothing.  This is saying something but I am not sure what it means.

Are Developers too busy doing other things in their lives?

Are the global economic conditions putting pressure on LoD software development in general?

Companies with a bankroll and capability to pay Developers to do their work allow them a decent livelihood.  So, consequently companies like Microsoft and Apple have traditionally done well.

Yet, even now, Microsoft just announced a major lay-off of 18,000 employees.

Along with the effects of a recession, which I prefer to call a depression, come the attendant 'side-effects':

Business contraction, job loss, increased unemployment are all symptoms of what is not just regional, but encompassing the global economy as it were.

Thus, if you are one of those committers who volunteers their service in writing Open Source code in your spare time, and you find yourself out of a day job, that will most undoubtedly put a crimp on your ability, willingness to volunteer services when you cannot put dinner on the table.

We see ongoing development continues with Apple, Microsoft, Red Hat Linux and their orbiting software vendors in the commercial arena, but on the community side of Linux, I see few interesting new software applications in the offing.

Does this fit with what you see?  What are your thoughts?  -- Dietrich

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Get in the Game. Fedora is Linux Done Right

by Dietrich Schmitz

Join Fedora's growing community backed by a multi-billion dollar sales commercial Distribution, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL).

Consolidated development on one Distribution with continual refinement and focus. Don't waste time with non-standard cookie cutter, me too Distros which, most likely, won't be here in five years.

The next Fedora Desktop Linux is taking shape, continually evolving.  Being the first to include new advanced technologies like systemd, Fedora leads the way to the future of Linux.

That's right.  Fedora is a 'test bed' for future RHEL feature enhancements. Most importantly, work done on Fedora is 100% Linux Standard Base (LSB) ISO compliant.

How important is Linux Standard Base?

One need only look to the pure number of Distros that exist today for examples of variation to understand the problems inherent in added complexity introduced by ignoring standards like LSB.

So, download Fedora today.

And, Get in the Game. Fedora is Linux Done Right.

-- Dietrich

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Antergos

 by +Max Wachtel 

Antergos is an arch-based distro that aims to be user-friendly. It is fairly new and the installer that I am using is the testing version which has come a long way. They recommend using either the suse usb maker or dd (I went with dd). My computer, a HP/Compaq 6510b laptop, booted into Gnome with the wireless working which is needed because the installer downloads fresh. The sound works and this laptop has touch controls for sound and wireless which are working. The installer (cnchi) came up automagically.

                                   I chose the graphical installer

                          Then cnchi checks internet and disk space

                                            and set the language

                                                  and location

                                              now set keyboard

                                         next, choose Desktop

                        and then you choose what software you want

                  next, you choose where you want to insall Antergos.

                                                then click GO!

      the install took about 15 min, then rebooted into my new system

                         the package mgr for Antergos is pacmanXG

                                   and there is a lot it can do

     but it is based on arch so you can do it all with the command line

Over the past few weeks I've tried the gnome version of ubuntu, fedora, openSUSE and debian and none of them was as responsive as Antergos. I must say though, I don't mind using the terminal but having a graphical interface makes looking for programs eaiser. Between the offical arch repo and the arch user repo, I found all the programs I use in other distros. As I've always heard good things about arch but taking the better part of a day just to get to a usable desktop is a bit much for me. Antergos gives me what I want without the hassle! And if you get stuck, they have a very frendly and helpful forum.

On the inside it comes with chromium, music/video players and as I chose to include proprietary software, all media played without fuss. I like Clementine for audio and VLC for video and using pacmanXG is fast and easier than some of the 'others' that seem to take forever to finish. LibreOffice software is included but I removed it and installed Kingsoft along with abiword and gnumeric. I use Google Chrome instead of chromium and getting it, Dropbox and SpiderOak installed was fast and they were up and running in no time. I have a small home network and the arch wiki was very helpful in getting samba going.

All in all, I am very impressed with this distro and will be sharing it with all my friends. It's ease of installation is a big plus in my book and using arch as a base, they have a large selection of software for their users.  -- Max

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Linux Consolidation Continues: CentOS Joins Red Hat

by Dietrich Schmitz

The news that CentOS has joined the Red Hat family is positive.

"With today's announcement, Red Hat extends its commitment to rapid open source technology and solution development to deliver:

Commercial development and deployment:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the world's leading enterprise Linux platform, offering an extensive ecosystem of partners, a comprehensive portfolio of certified hardware and software offerings, and Red Hat's award winning support, consulting, and training services. Red Hat subscriptions deliver this value combined with access to the industry's most extensive ecosystem of partners, customers, and Linux experts to support and accelerate success.  

• Community integration beyond the operating system: CentOS, a community-supported and produced Linux distribution that draws on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other open source technologies to provide a platform that's open to variation. CentOS provides a base for community adoption and integration of open source cloud, storage, network, and infrastructure technologies on a Red Hat-based platform.  

• Operating system innovation across the stack: Fedora, a community-supported and produced Linux distribution that makes it easy for users to consume and contribute to leading-edge open source technologies from the kernel to the cloud. As a cutting edge development platform where every level of the stack is open to revision and improvement, Fedora will continue to serve as the upstream project on which future Red Hat Enterprise Linux releases are based."

The news is most positive in the sense that money doesn't grow on trees and funding to continue ongoing development has to come from somewhere.  I've maintained that this year, 2014, and going forward there will be an overall major consolidation of Linux Distributions as many will drop out by attrition and lack of financial ability to continue.

Last year, we saw evidence of that underway with first Fuduntu's demise, then Cloverleaf and SolusOS.  

However willing developers may be to work on Linux, the harsh reality is that one must have an income to sustain oneself, without which doing any sort of extracurricular project and particularly on a voluntary basis becomes exceedingly difficult if not impossible.

With that said, CentOS Project Leader +Karanbir Singh (left) shared some of his insights with +The Linux Foundation's esteemed +Libby Clark.

In Q&A fashion, here's some of what Karanbir had to say:

 "...Ten years ago when some of us were getting together to start the project, the aim was to get 300 people to use it, that was fantastic. From our perspective it's been fairly successful. How we define success is to build something we would use and that comes back to the user-driven approach. We cared about how things worked, where they worked, and overall it worked out well having that user perspective. 

I've never worked for a big open source company before but I hope to bring that user perspective to Red Hat and what I'll take a way is a large approach to user communities and hopefully manage that better. 

Otherwise, not much has changed. They sent me a phone and a laptop and that's how it's going to go. I feel quite privileged to have this opportunity to focus on the CentOS larger ecosystem side of things." 

... 

"...There's been no money involved in the project. We have a bank account that's never had more than a couple hundred dollars for printing t-shirts for events. This is the first time there's a group of people 'professionally' working on CentOS as a platform (emphasis mine). 

How CentOS used to happen was some of us would go to work and then work another 40 hours a week on CentOS. You can't sustain 80 hours a week. The reason I did it wasn't for compensation, it was because I wanted to."

Clearly, having a big organization the likes of Red Hat certainly will help fuel development efforts at CentOS.  And, as has been seen with Fedora, Red Hat understand well how to cultivate and nuture community-led research and development.  Assuming CentOS will find its way into the Fedora community of spins will round out and close a big gap on server side offerings.

Here's wishing the CentOS Distro Team the best of luck in their new relationship.

-- Dietrich

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Linux Advocacy: Lessons Learned in 2013

by Dietrich Schmitz

It's been nearly a year now since I created Linux Advocates.  I am reflecting on what has happened during the past year and appraising what changes I need to make that might make Linux Advocates more effective in terms of its advocacy.

As the website domain name implies, it is all about advocating for the use of Linux.  That is obvious but subtle at the same time.

In doing advocacy, I have discovered some things which have resulted in my making changes that seemingly run counter to the definition of advocacy.

Censorship

Over many years, I have learned from my personal experiences in website forums that readers come in varieties and types.  Taking feedback over the past year on Linux Advocates, I have found it necessary to apply rigid censorship so as to keep trolling from ruling the comments section.

It became quickly evident to me and LA co-founder +Katherine Noyes  that regardless of the cause, there is a sub-population who have no real interest in rational discourse on the topics at hand, who are merely intent to 'troll'.  It is unfortunate, but, part of the landscape and without censorship, I have seen comment feedback quickly regress.  So as to be effective in reigning in the trolls, full moderation has been on for over 6 months now.  Largely, the trolls have gone elsewhere.

But it leaves me with a strong impression of the types of people out there who make 'hating' and 'trolling' a game of sorts, who feel by virtue of their anonymity that they are not accountable for their bad behavior.  That is perhaps the most troubling aspect of today's Internet, along with privacy rights.

It represents a disconnect between how a 'normal' person would conduct his/herself in a public place and doing the same in a forum context.  Psychologists will be studying this type of behavior for years.

So be it.  Trolling is rampant, only I have filtered it out with censorship.  I don't like having to do it, but it is absolutely necessary.

Tribalism

In the real world, when you come to work to earn a paycheck, inevitably, there will be some 'friction' during the day due to human interaction.  Some conduct themselves in keeping with good business practices.  Others depart from that and their professional comportment and/or diminished social skills impact on others who come into contact with them.

Hopefully, you quickly identify who those people are and find ways to avoid unpleasant exchanges and get through your day.  Some days, it becomes impossible.

Personalities get in the way even more so on the Internet.  When it comes to professional conduct in the upstream software developer team setting, I have seen the worst kind of behavior one can imagine.  Even the grand poobah Linus Torvalds has been charged with exhibiting unprofessional, vulgar behavior.  

All it takes is one person in a position of 'authority' who controls a project to cause alienation to ripple downstream.  The side-effect of such behavior in the Open Source community includes arrogance and those directly affected by the individual must quickly choose sides -- either adversarial or side with the 'bad behavior' and cliques quickly form.  In psychology, the tendency to behave in cliques smooths out difficulties for the project unit but leaves the organization in a position of exhibiting tribalism towards outside developers who wish to advance a special software feature or change. 

In fact, so as to preserve the purity and sanctity of this advocacy, I have had to discharge more than one contributor by virtue of their inappropriate behavior.  It's not something I will ever tolerate from anyone.

The reputation of Linux Open Source has been given a 'black eye' by tribalism.  It is very divisive, damaging and counter-productive to advancing the cause of Linux advocacy.   I don't know what the future holds but while many upstream projects do not suffer from this malady, all it takes is one 'bad apple' to magnify and spread like a contagion.  I hope things improve.

Living

Living.  What do I mean by that?  Everybody wants the same thing: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  Living comes at a cost.  Many currently around the globe are in the throws of economic turmoil.  And when you can't pay the rent, you are even more less likely to have any inclination to write code for an Open Source project.

That factors in for many who continue to dedicate themselves to Linux despite their life circumstances.  They are to be commended for their resolve and fidelity.  Others, simply by attrition, have either given up (Cloverleaf and SolusOS) or retired (Fuduntu).  That is the harsh reality.

I have predicted that given the serious economic turmoil, there will be a major consolidation of Linux Distributions resulting in a rapid collapse.  The result will be in the next five years only the strong will survive and that comes down to just a handful of base Distros.  And that has been a major factor influencing my decision to use Fedora -- they will be around.

Conclusion

I sincerely hope to continue providing strong advocacy for all things Linux with original and meaningful content.  I want to thank the readership for visiting my website and hope they will continue to do so throughout the 2014 year.  The average montly pageviews for 2013 was over 60,000.  

A very special thank you goes out to the Linux Advocate Contributors for their continued ongoing support.

Happy New Year Everyone,

Dietrich Schmitz
Linux Advocates, Site Owner

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