[OpenIndiana-discuss] Sonicle XStreamOS repo and XStream Desktop in progress

[finid at linuxbsdos.com]

At this point in the discussion, I think it'd be nice to hear from one 
or more of the OI devs.


--
finid



On 2013-05-18 19:43, DormitionSkete at hotmail.com wrote:
> On May 18, 2013, at 8:34 AM, Volker A. Brandt wrote:
> 
>> Jose-Marcio Martins da Cruz writes:
>>> Illumos isn't like Linux. Linux already has a very large user base,
>>> while Illumos have a very small user base. For Linux, it's not a
>>> real problem having some number of different distributions. About
>>> Illumus, maybe it should be better to add common efforts to increase
>>> the user base before each company having it's own distro.
>>> 
>>> At our organisation, I'd like to use a distribution coming or from
>>> some community (as debian or openindiana) or coming from some quite
>>> solid organisation (as Fedora come from RedHat).
>>> 
>>> IMHO, it could be better if people from these many different
>>> distributions could work together to create a distribution people
>>> could really believe in its medium/long term future.
>> 
>> You are completely correct.  I fully agree.
>> 
>> I wish Gabriele had spent all this work on OpenIndiana, maybe 
>> offering
>> a light weight WM and whatever else Sonicle needs als an extra 
>> package.
>> I wish Martin had done his absolutely amazing work in a more 
>> cooperative
>> and open fashion.
>> 
>> The problem here is that too many people want to many different 
>> things.
>> So far, nobody is willing to give in and agree to a common 
>> denominator.
>> 
>> Fortunately, at least Illumos is still the basis of all these
>> distributions, and it is a very solid one.
>> 
>> 
>> Best regards -- Volker A. Brandt
>> --
> 
> I don't agree.
> 
> I like Open Indiana a LOT.  I like most of the developers and most of
> the other people on this mailing list.  I have benefitted from their
> help enormously, and I appreciate their help and their efforts
> immensely -- far more than words can adequately express.  But if the
> people at Sonicle want to start their own distribution, I welcome that
> whole heartedly.
> 
> As much as I hate to say it, I see Open Indiana as a sick puppy dying
> a long, slow, lingering death.
> 
> While it has some significant strengths, it also has some significant
> problems, among which is the fact that it has no leadership, and no
> organizational structure.
> 
> Go back and look at the dev archives.  Start around September of last
> year, when Alasdair resigned.
> 
> The response among the devs can be summed up as, "We don't need a
> leader, and we don't want a leader."
> 
> Last December, some corporation, I think, approached the Illumos
> Foundation wanting to donate to Open Indiana.  Look at the devs'
> response to that, too.  It wasn't very good.  And others this year
> have offered to donate or pay for work to be done that they wanted,
> but unless things have changed that I'm not aware of, there's no way
> to contribute to Open Indiana.
> 
> Of course, not all people are motivated by money.  And our devs don't
> appear to be.  That's not necessarily bad, though.
> 
> Further, the amount of petty bickering on the dev list is enough to
> discourage even the most stout-hearted person from wanting to
> contribute to it.  Somebody a few months ago offered a small piece of
> work for a code review, and he got hit with somewhere around 20-30
> messages (if I remember correctly) bickering about what compiler he
> should use...
> 
> And Sonicle is right in saying that Open Indiana does seem to have a
> lot of complexity that probably could be simplified immensely.
> 
> I've heard many people say on this list that "we need a corporate
> sponsor".  Well, that simply cannot happen with OI in it's current
> condition.  Sonicle, as a corporation, has either overcome, or should
> be able to side-step, most of these problems OI faces.  My big
> question is, whether they really have the resources to do this.  Their
> website shows big, impressive buildings, but I think I picked up on
> Gabriele saying "both of us" have such and such expertise...
> 
> Maybe I'm wrong about that, but I'm not going to take the time to go
> through all his posts again.
> 
> But in any case, if Sonicle wants to make their own distro, maybe it
> might actually grow enough to be a viable replacement to OI before OI
> finally does die.
> 
> Within the Linux world, there have been many distributions that have
> come and gone, only to be replaced by others -- some better, some not.
> 
> 
> Again, I offer my greatest and warmest thanks to all of the OI devs
> and everyone else who has helped me on this list.  Unfortunately,
> though, this is how I see the health of OI.
> 
> I, personally, will miss OpenIndiana, if and when it does die.  But I
> hope that if or when that day comes, there will be a viable
> replacement for it.
> 
> Cordially,
> 
> Peter, hieromonk
> 
> 
> 
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