*NIXEDBLOG 3.0

Thomas Holbrook II | *NIXEDBLOG 3.0

Before I begin this essay, I would like to go ahead and pre-empt any attempts to make me out like I’m a Mono shill.  I’m far from it.  The only application that uses Mono that I found remotely useful was F-Spot.  I see no point in running Tomboy when I can just use Gedit (since files are opened in multiple tabs, just like EditPad).  As for Banshee, I haven’t tried it and see no compelling reason to (then again, multimedia applications that try to do it all has been a turnoff as of late for me…. sometimes, I just want an app that only plays music).  For the most part, I consider Mono applications as being luxury items of sorts.  They may be nice and make things nicer per se, but they aren’t really needed in order to have a functional desktop system.  With that out of the way, let’s begin this essay, shall we?

I read the invitation on Linux Today.  I had a response written while running SuperOS, but just as I was about to save it, the whole OS decides to lock up.  I suspect it was due to having two virtual machine hypervisor services running at the same time (even though the graphical interfaces for both applications weren’t running).  I held off in frustration, which was good, because it gave me time to reflect.

I also read the first response by Jo Shields.  The defense of Mono as a framework appears to be well balanced at first glance.  However, something kept nagging at me.  More on that later.  One only has to read the comments following the guest essay to realize that the whole issue is a hot topic so to speak.  Then I took a look at Boycott Novell’s response.  I also read this thread on LXer.  The thing that caught my eye was from none other than Danijel Orsolic (a.k.a. Libervis):

I used to be "anti-mono", then became just vary of it, but right now I just don’t see a good reason to be against it and in fact deem it silly of people to ask a project which they haven’t developed to act as they please, which is exactly what anti-mono people are doing.

A project including mono by default is simply in no way equivalent to "forcing mono down your throat". I can’t begin to express just how utterly ridiculous such a belief is. First of all it is YOUR choice to use Ubuntu (or any distro which includes mono) which by itself precludes all chance of anything being FORCED down your throat. Second of all, you are actually offered the ability to remove it and go on your marry way, which is exactly the opposite of being forced. It’s choice.

As for the purported "patent clouds" after all these YEARS of screaming about mono I think it is the FOSS crowd which takes the prize of trumpeting the *anti-Linux FUD* more than anybody else. They’ve pretty much took the few blurts by few MS execs or employees and made ALL of the publicity and fear mongering for them.

Which can only have an exactly the opposite result of what their goal is (people switching to a Free OS).

In truth, as TC points out, end users are unlikely to be affected (which is probably 90% of all desktop Linux users) and if the worst case scenario that anti-mono people so love to talk about, there are multiple levels of defense plus an option of working around it which is unique to FOSS. I mean, even if anti-mono crowd is right about everything as far as the threat goes it’s not anywhere near as dangerous as they want to portray it.

So in fact, they’re their worst enemy, not Microsoft, by far.

While I do not completely agree with Danijel’s arguments, there is one statement that stood out.  Are those who oppose Mono their own worst enemy?  It all depends on perspective of course.  Allow me to present mine.  As I stated in the title of this essay, the whole fight surrounding Mono is but a mere distraction from something that is an even greater threat.  Why Mono would be desired in the first place is for developers to convey since the end user is only concerned with applications and how well they run (as well as mow much disk space those applications and their dependencies take up).  What is clear is that Mono is not the real threat here, but Microsoft the Corporation.

Windows 7

I have been running the release candidate of Windows 7 for quite some time now, and I will be honest in my assessment of it.  It works very well and should not be taken lightly.  It’s more like Vista Second Edition, but it is quite reliable even though it is a release candidate.  It seems that the developers of the operating system in question have listened to most of the complaints put out there thus far.  The 64-bit edition has appeared to be the least stable, and I suspect it’s due to the sound card not being supported by Creative Labs on 64-bit Windows 7 anyway.  World of Goo runs quite well on Windows 7 as well as Firefox, aTunes, and a whole myriad of other applications.  There is even integrated ISO burning, which just about mitigates the need of other software for optical burning purposes.  The Windows Live Essentials bundle can be downloaded through a link in the Start menu (which I suspect is how people in Europe will get their hands on Internet Explorer anyway).  The interface of the task bar makes a lot of sense with active applications being represented by squares instead of rectangles with the text of the title bar (one only has to mouse over square in question to see what it is and the associated windows with it).

Assuming that no major mistakes are made at the last minute, 7 will be a serious contender.  The only question is this: what will other developers do about this?  Sure, Internet Explorer 8 still has problems, even under Windows 7, but even Microsoft has split Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer into two separate entities of sorts (so that IE will no longer display the contents of your hard drive… yeah, that was pretty frightening).  To entice future developers and hobbyists, the Redmond corporation also has hobbyist editions of Visual Studio available for download.  The plan is to lure developers to the .NET platform.  However, this hasn’t been focused on very much.  Instead, the big fights often occur with Mono and whether or not it’s patent encumbered or even a decent development tool in the first place.*

Drawing a Parallel

I mentioned Jo Shields earlier in this essay.  The reason why something did not feel right even though his guest essay on Linux Today appeared to be reasonable was because I had seen his name before.  He is involved with Mono and will defend it and Novell if they are criticized.  He is now a Master of the Universe of the Ubuntu Community.  In other words, he is a packager for the Universe and Multiverse repositories for Ubuntu.  He’s also a package manager for Debian and is a system administrator for Oxford University’s Supercomputing Center.  With his experience with a vast number of software applications, hardware, operating systems, and developer tools, he more than likely has some influence on what goes into new releases of Ubuntu.  Now for those who oppose Mono, how would something like this happen without any major conflict?  Sure, there was Boycott Novell arguing over and over again that such a thing was not a great idea, but due to not caring until it’s too late, I suppose it was inevitable.  What do I mean when I say inevitable?

There are plenty of people out there who just want to do with their computers as they please.  Hey, that’s fine by me.  However, this one tidbit from helios himself says it all:

Linux Users will rescue the Desktop. We don’t need corporate help.

Let me take this ice cold bucket of water and welcome those who believe this to the real world. Take a deep breath, because I’m about to splash you abruptly back into the cold, harsh light of reality.

Linux Users could give a crap about anyone adapting to Linux and being freed from Microsoft. –Blog of helios, 2008

Obviously he did not mean all of them.  There are plenty out there who contribute by improving documentation, debugging, offering patches, starting new projects, or even sharing what they run with others.  The sad truth is that there are still too many people out there who only care that they get to run software without paying any money for it.  What did he call them?  Ah yes, digital welfare recipients.

I know how many people read this blog…and I also know how many people really care if others are ever freed from Microsoft shackles. We talk on a regular basis.

About 106 of you. The rest may have their reasons for not caring…maybe it’s a lack of social skills. Maybe it’s just that they don’t have time.

Or maybe they are digital welfare recipients just waiting for their next distro/check to hit the mailbox/distrowatch so they can scoop up even more free, open source software.

And keep it for themselves while the person next to them struggles with viruses and a constant BSOD. –Blog of helios, April 2008

The reason why Jo Shields made it to such a credible position in the Ubuntu Community just happens to be the very obstacle when it comes to competing with Microsoft: apathy.  Keep in mind that the quotes were taken from blog entries published last year.  The tide is turning, but the process needs to be sped up a little bit, especially with Windows 7 coming closer to being released to retail.  Vista was a great opportunity for alternative operating systems to begin gaining mindshare.  Great efforts were made, but by far too few people.  The situation with Shields becoming a MOTU of Ubuntu perfectly illustrates the "why me" syndrome.  Not enough people noticed that applications were dependent on Mono until it was too late.  When it was finally noticed, especially with the inclusion of Tomboy and F-Spot in Ubuntu, detractors of course complained.

Benchmarks can be ran until the hardware running burns out before our very eyes.  Comparisons can be made of the features between different developer tools such as Qt and Mono until our eyes are bleeding.  The argument over patents being a threat or not can happen until our eyes literally explode out of our heads, leaving us blind for the rest of our lives.  There has been an essential blindness that’s been going on in a sense.  The blindness of apathy applied towards the real threat here.  It’s time to get over the fact that Mono exists.  It’s existed long before the Microsoft/Novell covenant and will exist for the forseeable future.  So what about Windows 7 and Microsoft?  Why is a blind eye turned towards them at the moment when so much energy is poured into whether or not a developer’s tool is evil or the best thing since tortillas?

A blind eye was turned towards those who supported Mono until they started to obtain higher positions of authority in the Ubuntu community.  Now the same thing is being done with Microsoft.  So who has viewed Windows 7 through a critical lense?  There’s Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, who like me has run it on his own machines. There’s also Ryan, who speaks critically of Windows 7 and XP Mode. Who else is looking at Windows 7 and balking?  Boycott Novell.  Who else?  Nobody really.  Gizmodo may have complaints, but there’s still plenty of admiration of the operating system in question.  There are plenty of valid issues with 7.  However, it isn’t simply another Vista.  How do I explain it?

Think of two groups in bloody conflict.  Both agree to a ceasefire due to negative media coverage in addition to too many losses, etc, etc.  Do you think for one second that not one of the two groups would at least be spending their time during said ceasefire re-arming themselves?  What do you think Microsoft has been doing all this time?  The sad reality is that they don’t need to sue over Mono or software related patents in order to damage the FOSS community, especially since the FOSS community is perfectly capable of hurting itself.  Instead of encouragement towards the author of Gnote, we have criticism against its very existence.  I know that at least 30 years ago, a rewrite of an application just for the challenge of it (and something to do) would have been admired by true hackers, especially if that same application used less lines of coding, ran faster, and had new or improved features.  Instead of, "Hey, good work.  What else are you going to do?" we get, "Don’t do that!  It’s not good for the community!"  Whatever happened to friendly competition?  What ever happened to egging everyone on to modify the software, improve it, and pass it on?  Without having the mindset of a competitor, how does one expect to ever confront Microsoft with products of their own?  The answer is simple: it won’t happen anytime soon.

Microsoft the Corporation, despite any suspicion of financial troubles, still has a much better advertising budget and relationship with mass corporate media than Linux advocates do.  I have a few suggestions as to how to deal with Windows 7.  While the release to retail is looming, there is still some time to get ahead of the curve so to speak.

Microsoft: The Root of it All

 In order to gain more mindshare, it’s imporant to pick your battles wisely.  Arguing one way or another about Mono is not productive at this point.  The cat is already out of the bag so to speak, and there’s nothing that can be done about it, except for making better tools and improving existing ones.  What am I talking about?  Gambas for starters.  For those familiar with Visual Basic 6.0, this completely new language has a similar concept.  Developers and would be developers can draw up the user interface and assign code to the objects of the windows.  This could be a great way of attracting new developers.  While searching for tutorials is a great way to get acquainted with it, a structured course book with plenty of screenshots and step-by-step instructions would probably be a great thing to create.  While there is help documentation that comes with most IDEs, I also know that plenty of people just don’t have the patience to read through it all and want a nice, structured way of learning the ropes.  There are also tools such as KDevelop for KDE and Anjuta for GNOME.  Then there’s Python, Java, and other languages.  So what’s the point of mentioning so many developer tools?

Well, if you don’t like Mono or Mono-based applications, then here’s a thought.  Why not actually develop better applications with the other developer tools that are out there?  Yes, some tools make it faster than others to build software, but the effectiveness of it all depends on the abilities of the developer, not the tool itself.  In other words, in order to compete against the likes of Microsoft and their Windows and Office platforms, it’s going to take some actual talent, and it’s most definitely there.  Developers can’t do everything though.  Why did the likes of OS/2 die?  Sure, it was sabotaged by the competition, but guess what else caused it to die?  IBM’s apathy.  No matter how much quality a product has, it won’t mean squat if nobody knows about it.  Guess what that means?

Better Start Advertising

Many of us have seen the whole bruhaha over the Iran elections being discussed using Twitter.  While I have my own suspicions in regards to the whole incident that’s outside the scope of this essay, I will say this much about it: this just goes to show how effective a networking tool that Twitter is.  Digg, MySpace, Slashdot, Facebook, and other sites are also great ways of networking with other like minded people.  Making more people aware of Linux and other software of the like can go a long ways into getting a foothold into the door of the mass public.  Internationally, everything’s going quite well I suspect.  In the United States however, a different story unfolds.  The U.S. is Microsoft’s perceived territory.  There exists a couple of great Linux-friendly computer companies out there such as System76 and ZaReason, but unless we stop preaching to the choir in the sense of having these companies only showing up in purely computer-related publications and having them show up in the Time and Good House Keeping magazines of said country, millions will still not realize that they have a real choice when it comes to their everyday computing experience.

This also means actually saying that use such products at home.  I’ve run into people from numerous walks of life both online and offline who have run one distro or another.  Have a blog anywhere?  Why not just talk about the software choices you made and why, even if it’s only due to not having to pay a hefty amount of cash for it.  Are you in college?  Depending on the major of your fellow students, they too can use software without chains attached to it.  The next time a fellow student complains about how much an office program costs, show them that your word processor of choice is a lot smaller, faster, and a heck of a lot cheaper than what they were thinking of.  Have some money to burn (yes, it can happen, even in today’s economy) as well as time?  Why not submit advertisements to local newspapers, tv stations, and radio stations?  If you don’t participate, others who have preferences in frameworks that you are wary of will do the participation for you, and make decisions that you’ll have virtually no control over until after the fact.  Yeah, I can remove Mono, but assuming I don’t like it, why would I have subjected myself to having the runtime and libraries installed by default in the first place when I could have installed a distro that doesn’t ship with them installed already?

Better Start Participating

Have a favorite software application?  Know it inside and out?  Why not offer community support on the project’s forum, IRC channel, or e-mail list?  Better yet, why not write a guide of your own and publish it?  There are those whose brains are hard wired for coding and not for writing documentation meant for an audience outside of the software development field (and definitely outside the field of hacking).  If you have the time and the ability to write documentation for people totally new to the product in question, why not write a guide with plenty of tutorials?  Think the graphics for certain applications could be better?  Why not find out how to improve them?  Are you excellent at public speaking and making presentations?  Why not talk about freedomware at your local school to young, impressionable students or at a local church/religious institution?  The possibilities of promoting freedomware is endless.

Of course if you have knowledge of debugginig and programming, you can use your skills to offer updates to various projects.  If you have the hardware laying around, why not test lots and lots of software for the purpose of filing bug reports?  If developers know what hardware works and what causes problems, they can greatly improve their products.

Better Start Sharing

Bill Gates had a great deal of understanding of the nature of people in general.  Once ingrained in the mind, one becomes set in their ways, and woe for you if you try to change them.  When promoting other operating systems, actually sit down with people who may be interested and actually demonstrate the software in question, but don’t stop there.  Also demonstrate to them that they do in fact have a choice and absolutely do not have to stick with the defaults.  Why is it that Mono supporters are working tirelessly to have more apps on their framework in Ubuntu?  They understand human nature as well as Bill Gates does.  Lots of people tend to stick with the defaults if it works for them, unless it breaks.  Then they either give up on the operating system or product in question (thus going back to their old ways) or they simply replace the problematic components.  The latter is not always possible unless the person is curious enough to learn on their own or they are specifically shown that they do have plenty of choices in common, everyday applications for everyday tasks.  Remember this key point: choice is never a bad thing in regards to freedomware.  People customize their homes all the time.  Why should their computers be any different?

Conclusion

Beating each other to death over Mono is a huge waste of time at this point.  In regards to any patent licensing, Microsoft is not likely to give you a straight answer.  I too have tried asking about it, and have yet to get an answer myself.  No matter how you slice it or dice, Mono is going to be around for a while.  If you don’t like it, suggest alternatives, support those alternatives, and if you have the ability create new alternatives and/or improve existing alternatives.  There’s bigger fish to fry at this point, and Windows 7 is that fish that needs to go beyond frying.  It needs to be turned into a smoking crater.  The only way to accomplish such a feat is to forget the distractions, like the whole conflict over Mono, and actually advertise, participate, and share the alternatives out there with other people and let them know that they indeed have a choice in what they can do with their computers.  Now is not the time for squabbling back and forth over which developer tool is better.  Now is the time to show everyone what freedomware is truly capable of.  So what are you waiting for?  Let’s get started.

*Please don’t tell me that Mono isn’t a development tool.  I had aspirations earlier in my life to write software, and guess what?  I know a development tool when I see one.  If software assists the developer in writing software, it’s a development tool.