04.17.10

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Ubuntu Removes gThumb [2.11] and Adds More Mono

Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Mono, Novell, Patents, Ubuntu at 4:40 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

Photo by pterjan

Summary: A bizarre decision is made just weeks before the final release of Ubuntu 10.04 because the latest version of an F-Spot (Mono) competitor is removed and Banshee (Mono) gains integration with Ubuntu One

Steven Rosenberg has just published a rave (finally!) about Ubuntu 10.04. He particularly likes gThumb, which can help remove Mono from Ubuntu.

From the opening paragraph of Rosenberg’s new post:

I’ve been writing about such cockle-warming subjects as how Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx beta 2 and its 2.6.32 kernel handles such things as turning off kernel mode setting for Intel video that can’t deal with said mode-setting, as well as the ever-moving buttons on application windows, and how the new gthumb is the best damn Linux/Unix photo-editing program for journalists.

Well, guess what? On the very same day (the 15^th) we learn that “gThumb 2.11.x [is] Removed From Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx” and as WebUpd8 put it the other day:

This is a big hit to gThumb which adds a lot of amazing features in the latest 2.11.x series, such as Flickr and Picasaweb export support. Even more, the latest GIT build also includes a new extension to export photos to Facebook.

What was Canonical thinking? First they remove the GIMP despite opposition from most users and now they remove [the latest version of] gThumb, only to leave F-Spot (Mono) in tact as a primitive image editor that’s also a resource hog. It makes no sense. The Source shows another reason to reject Mono and in the comments it points out that “Team Apologista [Microsoft/Mono] choose[s] instead to ride the coattails of popular distros, often conflating distro success with Mono success!”

“Team Apologista [...] often conflating distro success with Mono success!”
–Jason, The SourceYes, the only reason Mono is actually used by some people is that Mono boosters whom we named before had plugged it into the distribution. It’s like lobbying. The very same people are still trying to push Banshee (Mono) into Ubuntu against users' will, despite the patent problems, and despite the issue of control.

Last month we wrote about Ubuntu One getting more Mono bindings for Banshee. Our reader Ryan wrote: “So Banshee brings in the offending bindings for Ubuntu One?”

Well, based on this new article from Linux Magazine, this Mono infiltration takes a step further as “Banshee 1.6 Integrates with Ubuntu One Music Store” now. █

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2 Comments

saulgoode said,

April 17, 2010 at 4:54 pm

… now they remove gThumb, only to leave F-Spot (Mono) in tact as a primitive image editor that’s also a resource hog.

Unless I am misreading the announcement, gThumb will still be included in Ubuntu 10.4 — just that it will be version 2.10 instead of 2.11

Dr. Roy Schestowitz Reply:
April 17th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Oh, I see now. I’ll correct this.