simosx

The easy way out is to change the name to "ASF" and not use the full name "Apache Software Foundation". The downside is that it now becomes the "ASF Foundation" which is a big pill to swallow for the purists.

They don't need to change the internal use of 'apache'.

The ASF will keep 'apache.org' but the huge problem is that they will NEVER accept to add a reference on the front page of the website "If you want to find more about the Apache indigenous tribe, click here".

Allwinner wants to sell as many SoCs as possible. Being open and having good Linux support is good business. The serve the low-end sector, which means they may not spend a lot of money for Linux support. But Linux support is good for business.

About a decade ago, Allwinner was providing an "SDK" to vendors to customize the Linux kernel for their devices. This "SDK" was a tarball of the compiled Linux kernel. In it, there were object files for drivers by third-parties for devices in the SoC that Allwinner sourced from other companies. Allwinner had the source code but obviously could not release it. They did not think better, and included those object files because it helps device integrators (mainly Android) to get the job done.

How do you deal with this issue with this blatant GPL violation? Obviously, you do not alienate the company. They fcked up but it's not the end of the world. They cannot release the source code of parts they do not own. You build a relationship and get them through to the right path.

But what happened in reality? A colossal fck-up. An attempt to "blackmail" the company to release the full source code and enforce the GPL. Listen to this, an attempt to enforce the GPL to a company "located in China". Not even on vendors that sell products in Europe or the US.

This alienated any attempts to get Allwinner's upper management to work with Linux. Allwinner made an effort and released some stuff (https://github.com/allwinner-zh) including the bootloader source and documentation (2015). The damage was done.

In 2016, Linus and other kernel developers posted their position on enforcing the GPL (https://lwn.net/Articles/698452/). Very pragmatic and should have been followed with Allwinner.

It is not much of a question of what's wrong with GTK, Qt, etc.

Flutter is cross-platform. Canonical is doing the work for Linux. Toyota is doing the work for embedded devices (to use in their cars). Microsoft is doing the work for their foldable tablets. At the moment, Flutter has the momentum to be the UI for everything. Whether it will pan out, we will be here to see.

Oh, on Linux, Flutter apps will have the default Ubuntu theme.

It is weird that this is your "last straw". Most likely you haven't used Ubuntu for a very long time and just want to influence others to switch away from Ubuntu.

Those windows controls on the left was the result of UI experiments. The mouse travels less when the controls are on the left. Imagine launching an application with the launcher on the left, and when you want to close to close the application, you have to move the mouse aaalllll the way to the right. It is not a breathtaking innovation as OS/X had been doing it already.

You can learn to use the windows controls on the left. I got used to using them and it takes a few days to feel at home. When sadly Ubuntu switched back to GNOME Shell and reverted this change, it felt really unnatural to have those windows controls on the wrong side. Still, you get used to it after a few days.

That's the page, https://ubuntu.com/download/server

You get three options to run Ubuntu server.

The first option is to run Ubuntu server in a VM, and most users will want to run Ubuntu server in a VM. Multipass is a tool that helps you run Ubuntu server in a VM. Multipass is just a front-end for KVM when you use a Linux distribution. If you use Windows, it is a front-end for Hyper-V, etc.

The second option is to perform a manual installation, which means that you get the ISO and do your thing.

Between the two, most people would want to install Ubuntu Server in a VM rather than on baremetal. I think it makes sense to put that first. If a person is a power-user, then can read on and select Option 2.

I see that there is a perceived negativity on anything Ubuntu that if something is different, it is perceived as something bad is happening.

Most likely you tried to run a command, this command was part of a package that has not been installed, and Ubuntu suggested to you to install a specific deb or snap package.

There is a usability package 'command-not-found', which is a handler for the shell and runs when the command you tried to run, was not found.

You mentioned though that you tried to install a package, the package was not found and got a suggestion to use snaps or something. There is no such thing as far as I know.

There are two packages, 'chromium-browser' and 'lxd'. In Ubuntu 20.04, both these packages are now only available as snap packages. If you try to install them with `apt install`, you get a notification that they are now only available as snap packages, and the installer transparently installs the snap package for you. This has been discussed a lot before implementing, and also here. The gist is that when you `sudo apt install chromium-browser`, you want the installation to work, not get an error message to run `sudo snap install chromium` instead.

talent (τάλαντο) is a Greek word to describe some quality or charisma that some people may possess when they do something.

It comes from the ancient times of rulers and peasants when people actually believed in unspecified innate qualities that differentiate people from each other.

"talent" is so much ingrained into culture that people take its vague existence for granted. I think that "talent" is used as a praise for the purposes of attracting/luring someone to do all the work.

There is evidence of fungi appearing over 1 billion years ago [1].

Plants first appeared around 400 million years ago or later [2]. In fact, early plants required symbiosis with fungi to grow. Even now, plants grow better if they have symbiosis with fungi and most plants (such as tomatoes) can grow symbiotically with fungi. But it is cheaper to use fertilizers, and those are used instead. Still, forest ecosystems still depend on fungi and require them as a way to recycle plant material (fallen leaves, dead plants and trees).

Evolutionary, fungi existed well before plants managed to evolve.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_fungi

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_history_of_plants

You can hold off the update of a snap package for up to two months by enabling the appropriate key at https://snapcraft.io/docs/keeping-snaps-up-to-date

I suppose the rational is that updates should happen. You can take your time to hold updates for up to sixty days but they should happen anyway.

The certbot snap package is published by the EFF/LetsEncrypt themselves.

You could also trick snapd that you are on a metered Internet connection, therefore avoid updates.

Other distributions also use the Snap Store.

See the stats for the Skype snap package for the range of Linux distributions, https://snapcraft.io/skype

By default you ask your users for these permissions, if you do not want to get them from the Snap Store.

That is, create your snap package and publish it on the Snap Store. Do not request to pre-approve any permissions. Arrange with your users to enable those permissions on demand.

Chromium is very complicated in terms of packaging, and packaging it as a deb package is too tough. Because when a new version appears, you need to do lots of work to get it updated quickly.

For Ubuntu 20.04, it has been explained (in 2019!) that Chromium will be only available as a snap package. To help users transition, the command `sudo apt install chromium-browser` would install the snap package. It is better than "package not found".

It is so simple, but if you are stuck in a negative sentiment on snaps (read this thread), you get crazy.

By default, snapd keeps three copies of older versions of a snap package. It does so, so that you can revert easily to a previous version if the latest version does not work. You can disable this feature by setting the appropriate key to `1`.

There is a negative sentiment around snap packages. Even if you are an experienced Linux user, you fall into that negative sentiment and even if an issue is small, it is a deal-breaker for you.

The "chromium" issue has been explained in 2019. Ubuntu 20.04 does not plan to package "chromium" as a deb package (too difficult to maintain properly), therefore there was a need for a backup plan if users were trying to install it.

Lenovo cited NetMarketShare for the stats on the desktop Linux, https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-brin...

You can "snap download" and "snap install" to bypass any updates.

The chromium transition from deb to snap has been discussed here (Note: October 2019)

https://snapcraft.io/blog/chromium-in-ubuntu-deb-to-snap-tra...

Ubuntu could not maintain a deb package, and keep it up to date. Therefore, there is only a snap package. When you try to install with `apt`, you get chromium installed transparently instead of getting a message that describes what I already explained. The breakage would be bad if there was nothing installed when you did a "sudo snap install chromium-browser".

AppImages are monolithic images, with no or minimal protection of your computer. I think they are the equivalent of the Windows packages in the 90s and 00s, that were distributed with CDs with little idea where they came from.

Lenovo, in their announcement, they start by saying that they made the move because the Linux desktop stands at 2.7%. And they want in, in this 2.7% market. If the Linux desktop becomes a 5% market, or a 8% market, then it will open the floodgates to other companies offering support to desktop Linux.

Source: https://news.lenovo.com/pressroom/press-releases/lenovo-brin...

What I see on HN is perpetual bitching and anti-Ubuntu sentiment. As if the Linux desktop is a zero-sum game. One wins and the rest are gone. In the harsh reality, if the Linux desktop gets like 5% or more, it will signal other companies to start supporting.

The chromium issue has been around since October 2019, https://snapcraft.io/blog/chromium-in-ubuntu-deb-to-snap-tra... Ubuntu cannot support a deb package because Chromium is huge in their dependencies and cannot provide timely updates. Therefore, there is only a snap package. And, what happens if the end-user tries the chromium browser? The system transparently installs the snap package instead of presenting an essay to explain the full background.

Is it so difficult to say respectfully, "everyone do your thing to increase the marketshare of desktop Linux so that it eventually opens the floodgates of support".

You cannot increase the Linux desktop marketshare by staying within the 2.7% of the Linux desktop. You just need to attract new Windows users, not steal Ubuntu users.

Is the question whether snapd require an init, or whether snapd should be packaged to work with more init systems?

Have a look at LXD. It creates system containers that are based on runtimes of most Linux distributions. You can stick to specific versions and are certain that those do not change.

snapd does much more.

The announcement from 2019 is https://snapcraft.io/blog/chromium-in-ubuntu-deb-to-snap-tra...

If you first run

      snap login

then you can install snaps without "sudo". I suppose it is the same process with flatpaks.

The Mint maintainer went out of his way to react in bad faith.

The chromium transition was announced in October 2019, https://snapcraft.io/blog/chromium-in-ubuntu-deb-to-snap-tra...

Ubuntu was not able to maintain chromium as a deb package, and chromium is not the default browser in Ubuntu. Therefore, it has been packaged as a snap package. Since there is no longer an apt package, what should happen when you "sudo apt install chromium-browser"? The usable decision was to install the snap package of Chromium instead, https://snapcraft.io/blog/chromium-in-ubuntu-deb-to-snap-tra...

The snap package of Chromium has been in testing for two years already. The snap package page is https://snapcraft.io/chromium You can view the installation log, with the list of operating systems that have installed it.

"apt" packages are handmade. And they depend on hand-made dependencies. It becomes increasingly difficult to maintain packages like chromium, because they have too many dependencies, that have to be packaged individually.

The "universe" repository has tens of thousands of packages. Do you know that a majority of them are not maintained because it is too much effort and not many helping hands?

This polemic attitude is really bad for open-source.

Snap packages are good, and such efforts may help get the Linux desktop rise over the 3%.

Lenovo announced they are fully supporting Ubuntu desktop for two lines of computers.

snapd is a service, therefore it requires an init system.

The Chromium situation has been explained already in 2019, https://snapcraft.io/blog/chromium-in-ubuntu-deb-to-snap-tra...

There is no deb package in Ubuntu, so the system is setup to transparently install the snap package.

If you ever want to switch, the image is `selenium/standalone-chrome`.

I have been using the LXD snap and it worked just fine. The complexity should be similar to that of Docker.