06.16.09
Debian is Not Including Mono by Default, Yet
Summary: Refutation of common misconception that irreversible moves have already been made
A FEW DAYS ago we wrote about ongoing discussions in the Debian project — mostly a controversy that arose when some new push was made to put Tomboy inside. According to the leader of Debian, this supposed inclusion of Mono by default is only under “under discussion”. Contrary to some reports, this is not final and people can still enter this debate.
The Debian GNU/Linux distribution may include Mono in its default install, with the project leader Steve McIntyre telling iTWire today that “there’s a chance that it might do, but it’s under discussion at the moment.”
The fight for Mono is often a principles-driven fight — not one which revolves purely on legal and technical considerations. To give a new example, this new blog post shows that Mono is not even necessary. Better programs exist for GNOME (GTK), which do not rely on Mono.
There’s again a whole slew of arguments going back and forth about mono.
Me, I don’t use mono-based applications anymore. I used to be a Blam! user, until I found Liferea. I used to be an f-spot user, until I switched to digiKam. The reason, in both cases, was that the mono-based applications were much, much slower than their non-mono-based alternatives.
The person above is a Debian developer. It is his reasonable and moderate argument where he expresses no special interest in Mono. So why enter this uncertainty in the first place? █
eet said,
June 16, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Debian is contemplating to include Mono by default because Debian developers are not the cowardly paranoiacs as which Linux geeks often are portrayed. Good to see that the cool lives on! Linux hasn’t arrived where it is today by Torvalds thinking about ‘potential patent-traps’ — no, he coded and dealt with problems when they arrived!
Fear and hate get you nowhere!
lazarus said,
June 16, 2009 at 4:31 pm
I don’t think anyone really understands that including mono by default means that OEMs will balk at shipping computers with linux installed. Microsoft just has to threaten them with a lawsuit, and bingo! No more linux pre-installed. Unless maybe if it’s Novell’s MS-linux.
Microsoft doesn’t need to sue users. They can use their stealth patent claims to control OEMs.
Roy Schestowitz said,
June 17, 2009 at 2:10 am
Yes, it can go like that.
Dante said,
June 18, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I’m an end-user, plain and simple. I have two almost identical apps, Banshee and Rhytembox. Now, can someone please tell me why Rhytembox uses 25mb of my 1500Mb memory, whilst Banshee uses a full 500?
Oh, Banshee has a nice cover fetch feature. It also has a nice optional (not installed by default) service that creates a smart playlist. (which I didnt install during my testing)
Honestly, to me? The legal disputes dont bother me. The fact is, mono software, whilst normally beating some of it’s companion software in some areas, is far too resource heavy for me to use. Just because I have excess computing power dosent mean I want a app in a language that’s very resource heavy.
Considering Ubuntu is going to possibly be putting in Banshee in 9.10, I want nothing to do with it. This isnt poltics for me, this is me saying ‘Hang on…why?’ I’ve switched to KDE now and am quite enjoying my desktop. Sure it’s more resource heavy then a non-mono-laden GNOME, but it’s less the a mono-laden one. Goodbye, GNOME. Hello Kubuntu!