Linked by Dedoimedo on Thu 17th Mar 2011 23:17 UTC
Writing about Debian is not a simple thing. You know it's the giant that has spawned pretty
much every other distro out there. It's almost like a Roman Empire, almost a taboo.
Furthermore, it's not a desktop distro per se. It's more sort of a template you use to build
your platform. It's also a SOHO server distro, therefore it more fits into the business
category, comparable to CentOS and similar.
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RE[3]: Angry Rant Reviews present
by ephracis on Fri 18th Mar 2011 09:35
in reply to "RE[2]: Angry Rant Reviews present"
Member since:2007-09-23
RE[4]: Angry Rant Reviews present
by mrstep on Fri 18th Mar 2011 14:21
in reply to "RE[3]: Angry Rant Reviews present"
Member since:2009-07-18
RE[4]: Angry Rant Reviews present
by Flatland_Spider on Fri 18th Mar 2011 20:10
in reply to "RE[3]: Angry Rant Reviews present"
Member since:2006-09-01
I'm not bagging on automation. I like that Fedora works on my stuff out of the box, and I don't have to worry about messing with wpa_supplicant. It saves me time, and it's the reason I use it over FreeBSD on my desktops and laptops.
This Debian. This isn't Ubuntu or Mint which strive for perfect installs; People should expect to do some work when installing Debian. Adding wizards strips the power and obfuscates configurations, Red Hat is really bad about this, so it's nice to have distros that are just barebones.
RE[4]: Angry Rant Reviews present
by ferrix on Fri 18th Mar 2011 22:07
in reply to "RE[3]: Angry Rant Reviews present"
Member since:2005-07-06
I thought the whole point of computers was to do as much work for us as possible!
and yes, I run Linux on my systems, I have for years. But having gone through the 'pioneer' days in the 90s and having messed around with Gentoo, Arch etc, nowadays I'm perfectly happy to use Linux Mint - because it just installs and does what I need straight out of the box. I've come to the conclusion life's too short to spend it installing obscure drivers and codecs just to watch that youtube clip.
RE[3]: Angry Rant Reviews present
by mrstep on Fri 18th Mar 2011 14:19
in reply to "RE[2]: Angry Rant Reviews present"
Member since:2009-07-18
Yeah, he didn't pick his hardware correctly, that's surely the right answer for Debian. I think the complaint was that everything needed to be manually configured starting with the damned firmware - what the hell kind of install is that?
It's a perfectly valid (attempted) review - a reason someone shouldn't even consider reaching for this installer unless they specifically need it.
RE[4]: Angry Rant Reviews present
by Vanders on Fri 18th Mar 2011 14:25
in reply to "RE[3]: Angry Rant Reviews present"
Member since:2005-07-06
I think the complaint was that everything needed to be manually configured starting with the damned firmware - what the hell kind of install is that?
Complaining about the lack of proprietary firmware on the install image, when installing a distribution which is widely known and very vocal about the fact that it does not ship proprietary firmware, is ridiculous.
It's about as interesting as "reviewing" Arch Linux and lambasting it for following a rolling release schedule, or noting that RHEL seems to be particularly well suited to servers.
RE[3]: Angry Rant Reviews present
by molnarcs on Fri 18th Mar 2011 15:09
in reply to "RE[2]: Angry Rant Reviews present"
Member since:2005-09-10
It's a whiny blog post. This has nothing to do with criticism of Debian.
Let me summarize the article.
"They used old code that works and not new code that doesn't. Massive FAIL!"
"They don't include proprietary blobs. Why isn't my poorly chosen hardware not working?"
"You mean I actually have to config stuff?"
"My network didn't work. Waaa... I quit!"
That is all he had to write.
This is an installation article. Props to the author for using actual hardware rather then a VM, but did the world really need this? What did the world gain by someone whining about a bad installation experience and failing to investigate or provide any sort of analysis of the problem? I may be being too harsh, but I expect technical articles to have technical details in them. I can go read clueless drivel countless other places; it's nothing special.
Let me summarize the article.
"They used old code that works and not new code that doesn't. Massive FAIL!"
"They don't include proprietary blobs. Why isn't my poorly chosen hardware not working?"
"You mean I actually have to config stuff?"
"My network didn't work. Waaa... I quit!"
That is all he had to write.
This is an installation article. Props to the author for using actual hardware rather then a VM, but did the world really need this? What did the world gain by someone whining about a bad installation experience and failing to investigate or provide any sort of analysis of the problem? I may be being too harsh, but I expect technical articles to have technical details in them. I can go read clueless drivel countless other places; it's nothing special.
I think is one of the most accurate summaries of the "review" - who the hell modded it down?
The review fails right at the beginning - the author is confused by the variety of available images. Than he just takes a shot at one of them! Well, you can't get any more clueless than that.. Debian is explicitly aimed at users who are willing to clue in, get the information they need, read documentation, etc. One can stop reading right there, the rest is as expected... A thorough rant about the installation (after choosing not to read up on it at all!)
I'm saying this as someone who doesn't even use debian (in case you were wondering: I'm on Windows 7 now). Installed it once about 7 years ago, on a low-traffic server. The installation was a breeze after reading the documentation. Used a variety of linuces since then, plus FreeBSD for a few years. FreeBSD had the best installer of all (again, after RTFM of course). Arch was the latest. One thing in common in these is that they DON'T promise a fully automated bells-and-whistles installation process. So criticizing them for not doing what they never claimed to do is stupid.
In the case of Debian, even a somewhat informed linux user would know that the first thing to do (if it's your first time) is to get a clue and prepare before you start the installation. I expect more for someone who regularly writes reviews.. Or NOT, actually, seeing how most reviews nowadays are actually installation reviews - as parent points out.
RE[3]: Angry Rant Reviews present
by Carewolf on Fri 18th Mar 2011 17:41
in reply to "RE[2]: Angry Rant Reviews present"
Member since:2005-09-08
Well, it was good review of a bad installer. It is always hard to chose a good version of Debian. Pretty much nothing except a recent netinst seems to work. I am surprised he managed to even complete the install on the CD version. Why these broken ISOs are even offered blows my mind.
I think the problem is: Debian is a lot more than the installer. I've run Debian for 10 years, and only used the installer twice. I don't care what it does during install, because I am setting the machine up after install anyway.
Also noticed the installer has regressed. Somehow the short people have tried to relabel GNOME to the graphical desktop again, instead of providing the choice that is the essence of Debian. This has been reported as a bug before and fixed, but apparently the short people refuse to play by the rules.
News
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:58 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/17/13 17:52 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 21:03 UTC
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."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 20:46 UTC
"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?
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 17:32 UTC
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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 11:39 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/14/13 11:32 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 19:39 UTC
"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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:45 UTC
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.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 11:43 UTC
"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.More News »
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Member since:
2006-09-01
It's a whiny blog post. This has nothing to do with criticism of Debian.
Let me summarize the article.
"They used old code that works and not new code that doesn't. Massive FAIL!"
"They don't include proprietary blobs. Why isn't my poorly chosen hardware not working?"
"You mean I actually have to config stuff?"
"My network didn't work. Waaa... I quit!"
That is all he had to write.
This is an installation article. Props to the author for using actual hardware rather then a VM, but did the world really need this? What did the world gain by someone whining about a bad installation experience and failing to investigate or provide any sort of analysis of the problem? I may be being too harsh, but I expect technical articles to have technical details in them. I can go read clueless drivel countless other places; it's nothing special.