Linked by the_randymon on Wed 9th Jan 2013 00:48 UTC
Lead developer for Compiz, Sam Spilsbury, says he sees little need to develop Compiz for Wayland due to the increasing fragmentation of the Linux ecosystem. Spilsbury writes "What does compiz actually provide to users of these systems? [...] None of this functionality that user wants really depends on our compositing engine. There's nothing so special about our compositing engine that gives it a reason to exist [...] This is the real practical toll of fragmentation amongst the Linux ecosystem. It's not just that there are multiple implementations of the wheel. There are multiple implementations of entire cars which do almost the same thing, but a little different from everyone else. Some say this is the free software's greatest strength. Now that I know the personal and technical toll of fragmentation, I see it as its greatest weakness."
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Member since:2007-03-26
I believe he was referring to the fragmentation between Linux distributions vs Something like Windows or Android which comes as a complete artefact from a particular supplier.
Yeah I appreciate that, his project could equally be accused of adding to the fragmentation as its a non-standard WM (though granted a highly popular "non-standard"). He's entire project is based on the principle that people can replace the underlying window manager behind their desktop environment of choice with another windows manager.
So I was more speculating about whether there was additional motives behind his rant.
There are a lot of changes happening in Linux which are doing more to push Compiz out of the market place (eg KDEs Kwin). So if his rant was purely about the fact that some distributions are adopting a replacement for X11 (which, to be fair, is fairly unpopular in Linux anyway, and up until yet, there hadn't been any viable alternative), then he's coming off slightly hypocritical given his architecture is designed to replace the desktops default.
I'm probably reading too much into things, and there certainly is an issue of fragmentation in Linux. But Wayland is one of the few instances where I think the re-engineering that's going on is deserved.
This is all purely opinion though
Edited 2013-01-09 14:57 UTC
Member since:2007-09-06
Windows, Android and osX are each also distributions. The fact that only Microsoft can legally produce and ship Windows distributions doesn't change that.
Is there fragmentation within Canonical's standard Ubuntu build or within the bounds of any other distribution.. not so much. Perhaps around the same amount of fragmentation found within the bounds of the current Windows distribution version.
In terms of market fragmentation; about the same as the automobile industry.. or do we demand all manufacturers merge there car designs into a single product sku number?
(yeah I know.. old debate.. nothing productive going to come from this tangent of it either)
Member since:2007-03-26
Windows, Android and osX are each also distributions. The fact that only Microsoft can legally produce and ship Windows distributions doesn't change that.
I can see the point you're trying to make, but I think it's a bit of the stretch for the very reasons you later explained:
Is there fragmentation within Canonical's standard Ubuntu build or within the bounds of any other distribution.. not so much. Perhaps around the same amount of fragmentation found within the bounds of the current Windows distribution version.
Which is why you wouldn't call Ubuntu and Xubuntu different distros any more than you'd call different releases of Windows as different distros.
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/13/13 14:35 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/11/13 17:07 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 06/10/13 23:13 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
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Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!More Features »
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Member since:
2009-08-18
I believe he was referring to the fragmentation between Linux distributions vs Something like Windows or Android which comes as a complete artefact from a particular supplier.
Edited 2013-01-09 14:05 UTC