For the most time, I've been firmly in the largest camp when it comes to the Mono debate - the 'I don't care'-camp. With patent lawsuits being hotter than Lady Gaga right now, that changed. For good reason, so it seems; while firmly in the 'ZOMG-MICROSOFT-IS-T3H-EVILL!1!!ONE!'-camp, The-Source.com investigated the five most popular Mono applications, and the conclusion is clear: all of them implement a lot of namespaces which are not covered by Microsoft's community promise thing.
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Member since:2005-07-07
that's utter bull.
i'm not mono developer, but it is my preferred development environment beside vala. although i'm finding my self more and more writing in vala (if only it had reflection like .Net i'd move away from .Net long ago)
in most cases, what you hear from mono developers is complete silence and avoidance or answer with question "what is safe and not patented?". last is quite true in my eyes. everyone is so loud about mono and so quiet about other problems.
java for example is being under same wagon, now with oracle haunting it? well, it fares even worse. i don't hear people abolishing java from distributions.
trouble is that you can't write 5 lines of code and not infringe some non sense patent. in my eyes, computer patents should be abolished as there is no invention, it is pure rewrite of either normal event or behaivour in some other science. we're just using computer languages to write that.
Edited 2010-12-13 20:12 UTC
Member since:2010-05-19
That first line is a perfect example of the lack of self-awareness in the Mono community.
When I said "Mono dev" I meant "dev that uses Mono".
Look back at any ML/blog discussion on the subject.
Daniel Icxzzxazxca is such a waste of O₂ that it's staggering that anyone puts up with him. The people that do are just as bad.
Edited 2010-12-13 20:17 UTC
Member since:2006-07-14
Here's the difference between Java and Mono:
Java :
+ safe to use the language, vm, ect as long as its from an approved source ( ie Open JDK, ect).
- unsafe to use a non official implementation of the "open" standard. ( aka Harmony)
- unsafe to use parts of the a non official implementation of the open standard to create a pseudo derivative product (aka Android).
Mono :
+ safe ( from Microsoft lawsuits) to use a specific subset of the language.
+ safe to use a non official implementation of the "open" standard.
- unsafe to create a 100% Microsoft compatible implementation.
The problem no one in the mono world has even thought of is the qualifier in there: Safe from Microsoft. Microsoft doesn't own all of the patents that dot net Relies on. They paid to use Sun patents as well. So even an implementation of the open standard may be subject to lawsuits from Sun/Oracle.
Member since:2009-05-19
No... Java itself is definitely not in the same wagon. Ever read GPL? OpenJDK is GPL and is distributed by Oracle.
Apache Harmony is in the same wagon as Mono. In fact they are in wagon with less wheels... Harmony doesn't have even a "promise". Android is in a better position - due to the fact that Google is behind Android.
Member since:2009-08-26
"The Internet is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetimes. But for 2 out of every 3 people on earth, a fast, affordable Internet connection is still out of reach. And this is far from being a solved problem. There are many terrestrial challenges to Internet connectivity - jungles, archipelagos, mountains. There are also major cost challenges. Right now, for example, in most of the countries in the southern hemisphere, the cost of an Internet connection is more than a month's income. Solving these problems isn't simply a question of time: it requires looking at the problem of access from new angles. So today we're unveiling our latest moonshot from Google[x]: balloon-powered Internet access." Insane.
"MineAssemble is a tiny bootable Minecraft clone written partly in x86 assembly. I made it first and foremost because a university assignment required me to implement a game in assembly for a computer systems course. Because I had never implemented anything more complex than a 'Hello World' bootloader before, I decided I wanted to learn about writing my own kernel code at the same time. Note that the goal of this project was not to write highly efficient hand-optimized assembly code, but rather to have fun and write code that balances readability and speed. This is primarily accomplished by proper commenting and consistent code structuring." Just cool.
Jon Rubinstein, former CEO of Palm: "Well, I'm not sure I would have sold the company to HP. That's for sure. Talk about a waste. Not that I had any choice because when you sell a company you don't get to decide that. Obviously, the board and shareholders decide that. If we had known they were just going to shut it down and never really give it a chance to flourish, what would have been the point of selling the company? I think the deal we had with Verizon really hurt us, but who knew that at the time? These things are all hindsight.""And so it is with Dell's Alienware X51 R2, a small form factor gaming PC in console digs. It's shaped similar to Microsoft's Xbox 360 Slim, and though it's slightly larger than either a 360 or PlayStation 3, the X51 R2 would be right at home in a living room setting nestled next to a large screen TV. Indeed, it's adept at running Steam's Big Picture mode, and if your primary objective is to play games in the living room, go ahead and consider the X51 R2 a hybrid game console." This is obviously not the only machine like this - still, these are very valid console alternatives even for those that don't like being hunched over with a cramped WASD-claw. Also, PC gamers among us: could you get away with the $699 model for gaming?
From Bloomberg: "Microsoft, the world's largest software company, provides intelligence agencies with information about bugs in its popular software before it publicly releases a fix, according to two people familiar with the process. That information can be used to protect government computers and to access the computers of terrorists or military foes." The lid has officially been blown off.
"The key takeaway we've reached (after two less than 24 hours playing with the iOS 7 Beta release) is this - every App must consider even basic updates to its UI to survive in a post-iOS 6 world." Great. Telling developers to update their entire application - user interface and behaviour alike - to target a look and behaviour that isn't final yet. Seems like potential for a lot of wasted work here."Overall the app is really basic, and designed for on the go editing. Microsoft says it's not planning to create an iPad version, noting that tablet users can utilize the Office Web Apps instead. We'd like to see some additional options for editing, including more clear options for text formatting and the ability to insert and change images, but it's a solid attempt for something you're only really going to use for editing in emergencies." A resounding meh can be heard from all over the world."Today, most people are using modern browsers that support the majority of the latest web technologies. Better yet, the usage of legacy browsers is declining significantly and newer browsers stay up to date automatically, which means the leading edge has become mainstream. Given these factors we've decided to retire Chrome Frame, and will cease support and updates for the product in January 2014." Eh.The Next Web: "First of all, many of the new icons were primarily designed by members of Apple's marketing and communications department, not the app design teams. From what we've heard, SVP of Design Jony Ive (also now Apple's head of Human Interaction) brought the print and web marketing design team in to set the look and color palette of the stock app icons. They then handed those off to the app design teams who did their own work on the 'interiors', with those palettes as a guide. We've also been hearing that there wasn't a whole lot of communication between the various teams behind say, Mail and Safari. And that there were multiple teams inside each group that were competing with various designs, leading to what some see as inconsistencies in icon design. Those may well be hammered out in days ahead." What. Reminds me of how Microsoft does (used to do?) things.
"The German Parliament, the Bundestag, has introduced a joint motion against software patents. The resolution urges the German government to take steps to limit the granting of patents on computer programs. In the resolution, the Parliament says that patents on software restrict developers from exercising their copyright privileges, including the right to distribute their programs as Free Software. They promote the creation of monopolies in the software market, and hurt innovation and job creation." After New Zealand, we now have one of the most powerful economies in the world moving to ban software patents for all the reasons smart people have been outlining for years. also: "The government should also push to ensure that software is covered by copyright alone, and that patent offices (including the European Patent Office) stop granting patents on software." Germany is not a country the EU can ignore. Very good news, this.
Member since:
2010-05-19
Seriously.
Every have a conversation with a Mono developer? It's like talking to a neo-con.
"*logical argument that Mono isn't safe*"
"SHUT UP! It's the best development framework and it's safe because you suck!"
"but *patents, lawsuits etc*"
"NO! It's fine! SHUT UP! NYEEEEEH!!!!"
Yeah, whatever...