05.14.10
Posted in Antitrust, Apple, Debian, Europe, GNU/Linux, Google, OIN, Patents at 3:16 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Teams of embedded Debian users/developers may want a shield from software patents; Europe does nothing to stop software patenting; patent lawyers and the patents they crave prove harmful to development of “best” mobile phones
Benjamin Henrion (FFII) says that “EmDebian [is] considering joining the Open Invention Network,” based on this new message:
OIN is the open innovation network, a patent defence group set up in 2005 by IBM, phillips, Red Hat, Novell, NEC and Sony to create a patent pool for defending Linux.
They are now keen to have proper free-software people and projects join up, especially in the Embedded space which is shaping up for a big fight over the next few years as the incumbents realise Linux has eaten their businesses. This could easily get dirty (i.e. have incumbent vendors resort to their patent portfolios to hang on past their natural time – (in the way that SCO did, although they tried to use copyright rather than patents).
Henrion is trying to tell them that “collective patent pools and shields do not work against trolls” (with special exceptions [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]).
Enlarged Board of Appeal (EBoA) Decision Loved by Patent Lawyers
Wednesday’s disappointment from the EBoA is already being covered all around Europe, especially by the legal 'industry'.
Patent attorneys seem pleased with the outcome, which lets them carry on doing what they did before, including the patenting of software using known loopholes.
To be honest, the decision was pretty much expected: the European Patent Office (EPO) has been taking a fairly consistent approach to computer-implemented inventions and has a growing body of learning materials on the subject.
Another ‘IP’ attorney says that “Enlarged Board of Appeal confirms approach to controversial software patents.” More from patent lawyers:
As many in the ‘FOSS’/anti-patent world would undoubtedly say, perhaps it is now time for the legislator to take over. However, I would have very serious doubts about whether it will be possible to come to any sort of agreement among the member states of either the EU or the EPC that would stand any chance of resolving the issue once and for all.
[...]
6. T 424/03, Microsoft does deviate from a view expressed in T 1173/97, IBM, concerning whether a claim to a program on a computer-readable medium necessarily avoids exclusion from patentability under Article 52(2) EPC. However this is a legitimate development of the case law and there is no divergence which would make the referral of this point to the Enlarged Board of Appeal by the President admissible.
Henrion has just uploaded this English version of the video depicting the European Parliament as it rejects the Software Patent Directive (also available in French/original). Here is an Ogg Theora version of this historical video.
It would be nice to have another such high-profile decision annulling all patents on software. In the United States, In Re Bilski will resume very shortly.
Phones a Patent Mess
“Complex Smartphones Are the Latest Patent Battleground,” exclaims Business Week. It seems like nothing but lawsuits is what patents brought to this lucrative section of the industry (where Linux grows fastest and Microsoft diminishes).
The patent wars are raging in the mobile device market, and they could result in rising costs for handset makers and higher gadget prices for wireless carriers and consumers. So far this year, Apple and HTC—two of the most innovative smartphone makers—have become embroiled in more patent-related litigation than in all of 2007, and they are on track to beat their own 2008 and 2009 records, according to Bloomberg data.
Wired Magazine has the following new article:
Investigation: Apple vs Nokia vs Google vs HTC vs RIM
[...]
The struggle that’s broken out between the tech giants has a certain irony; after all, the prizes they’re disputing — patents — were invented to accelerate and encourage invention, not hinder it. The concept is fairly straightforward: a patent is granted if an invention meets a number of requirements, the most essential being “novelty” and “usefulness”. Once granted, a patent typically gives the inventor a limited monopoly of a minimum of 20 years in which he alone can market the invention or license others to take up his protected work.
[...]
In their 2008 book Patent Failure, Bessen and fellow Boston University law professor Michael Meurer show that, since the late-90s, litigation costs for publicly traded companies (except in the case of pharmaceuticals) have consistently outweighed the profits that companies derived from patents. They show that in 1999 alone, $9.3 billion (£6bn) were made in profits from patents globally. Litigation costs alone, however, reached $16 billion (£10.5bn) for the US. In the last decade, this situation has deteriorated considerably: in 1999, there were 2,318 patent litigation lawsuits filed in the US. By 2008, that number had risen to 2,896.
Yesterday we mentioned the HTC vs Apple case. The New York Times has attempted to get a response from Apple but failed.
An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment.
Why didn’t HTC join the OIN and retaliate against Microsoft and Apple this way? Instead, it sold out to Microsoft and harmed the whole of Android in the process.
HTC is using just 5 patents. Had it joined the OIN, it would possibly have hundreds of infringing examples for a more effective artillery in this M.A.D. situation (TechDirt says that a “Patent Nuclear Response [Was] Launched” because it’s the best analogy).
According to the press release, HTC believes Apple infringes upon five of their patents. As to what they are, we don’t quite know. More on this as it develops.
“HTC files patent complaint against Apple, asks for ban on iPhone, iPad, and iPod,” says Engadget. That’s the ITC loophole which often gets abused.
Apple has other problems because of Adobe and invocation of “antitrust”.
Adobe has launched its latest salvo in an ongoing dispute with Apple.
The co-founders of Adobe have published an open letter in which they say that Apple threatens to “undermine the next chapter of the web”.
Actually, it is Adobe which undermines the next chapter of the Web. The Web is about web standards, not proprietary plugins. More companies also need to support Theora, which both Apple and Adobe are a threat to (see the posts below). █
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05.12.10
Posted in Debian, GNU/Linux, Google, HP, Microsoft, Servers, Windows at 9:56 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Augusto Pinochet is a well-known example of coup d’état
Summary: By means of entryism, Microsoft increases influence inside HP, thus reducing the chance of Slate and Windows Home Server joining the list of dead products from Microsoft
IN THE PREVIOUS post we showed how HP was preparing to dump Vista 7, apparently only to replace it with a newly-acquired Linux-based operating system. It’s all just a rumour at the moment.
Mary Jo Foley asks the question, is “Microsoft and HP['s] Love on the rocks?”
Well, hardly.
Microsoft and HP collaborate in many ways and we have given many examples to that effect.
Vista 7, which is a hyped-up Vista with few improvements here and there, does not fulfill HP’s needs for tablets. Vista 7 is just not competitive enough and HP really hated Vista, based on E-mails from its management (unsealed around the Steve Ballmer deposition).
We are saddened but not surprised that HP has announced in a press release [1, 2] that it takes Microsoft staff to lead “Software and Solutions Business” — whatever that practically means.
This news was mostly covered by enthusiastic Microsoft boosters (for obvious reasons) and we found:
From the point of view of Free software and GNU/Linux, this is bad news. Microsoft’s Veghte very recently left the abusive company, right after meeting privately with Steve Ballmer. Amazon ought to serve as a cautionary lesson here. Amazon added Microsoft patent tax to Red Hat and Kindle’s implementation of Linux after hiring many executives from Microsoft, including one who joined the Kindle team just weeks before that notorious patent deal. Veghte could potentially put a Microsoft tax on WebOS just like in those predatory attempts against Android, which is also Linux based.
Veghte is not merely an innocent guy who spent a couple of years at Microsoft (like employees of companies that get acquired by Microsoft). He really grew up in this culture and in previous posts we gave examples of his role in antitrust violations:
Hewlett-Packard’s hiring of former Windows executive Bill Veghte, announced today, is another example of the computer maker’s potential to compete with its longtime partner, Microsoft, in the software business. The 20-year Microsoft veteran will lead HP’s software and services unit in his new role as an HP executive vice president.
Vice President, eh?
Speaking of seats being swapped, one reader told us that “[i]t’s time for the annual re-org to keep Nokia from getting competitive: Nokia has yet another corporate reorganization, this time they’ve put Anssi Vanjoki back in charge”
“It’s time for the annual re-org to keep Nokia from getting competitive…”
–Anonymous readerSee this page about Mary T. McDowell and recall how Nokia got ‘poisoned’ by Microsoft influence, later to sign Microsoft deals and play ball for software patents in Europe. A leopard like Veghte won’t change his spots overnight and not within a month, either. He spent two decades working alongside people like Steve Ballmer.
Now, lo and behold; in the past 2 weeks’ news we found this press release, titled “AMD Works with Microsoft and HP to Raise the Bar for 2P Price/Performance with Windows Server® 2008 R2″
Okay…
Let’s look further at the news.
How about “HP and Microsoft on Sex and the City 2″?
In the upcoming “Sex and the City” sequel, Carrie Bradshaw and her friends will carry Hewlett-Packard (HP) laptops that run Microsoft Windows.
Classy.
HP’s Debian-based home servers will hopefully not be neglected. Over the past week or two Microsoft has generated many headlines about Windows “home servers” (here is just one example), which are a technical disaster that falls short of Linux [1, 2] and usually relies on bundling from HP. Will HP call this bad product off and concentrate on Debian now that its “Software and Solutions Business” VP is a hardcore Microsoft executive?
Microsoft has seen many of its products dying recently, Forefront being one of the latest. It was only days beforehand that Microsoft still recommended it, so just because Microsoft raves about a beta of Home Server doesn’t mean it won’t be cancelled like Windows Essential Business Server for example. But with Veghte in charge? Not likely. █
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04.21.10
Posted in Corel, Deals, Debian, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Scalix, Xandros at 4:09 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: “It should be widely known by now. No matter why, when and where, join MS and you will be dead.” –Abe
Richard Hillesley has just published “The lost world of the Xandros desktop,” which is an article that looks at Xandros’ past and present. To quote some bits from this long article:
The latest release of the Xandros Linux desktop edition was in June 2006, which is several lifetimes in the history of Linux. Is this the end of the line for the Xandros desktop?
[...]
The ‘patent covenant’ with Microsoft has had a detrimental effect on Xandros’ ongoing relationships with the Linux user and developer communities. Ostensibly the purpose of the deal with Microsoft was to license protocols to enable Xandros’ BridgeWays and Scalix products to work with Microsoft networks.
Actually, Scalix came later. Xandros bought Scalix in July 2007 (July 9th to be precise), whereas Xandros sold out to Microsoft on June 4th.
We have found some new comments on the subject, including one in Tux Machines:
Xandros propaganda for smartphones ? giving up on netbooks ?
Netbooks were born for children. But had a future for enterprise applications because of HDTV(broadcasting news or training film) 16:9 video format(DVD player format). So, Asus sold more XP(sp3). But for individuals, dual boot with Ubuntu maybe a choice, until Firefox shot itself in the foot(not flash9 compatible).
In the comment titled “Join MS”, Abe from Linux Today writes:
Those who forget history are bound to repeat it.
It should be widely known by now. No matter why, when and where, join MS and you will be dead.
Those who ignore the warnings can’t blame but themselves.
We have a detailed list of companies that lost their GNU/Linux focus after signing Microsoft deals. Xandros of one of those companies. It’s "Microsoft's touch of death". █
“I once preached peaceful coexistence with Windows. You may laugh at my expense — I deserve it.”
–Be’s CEO Jean-Louis Gassée
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04.09.10
Posted in Apple, Debian, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Mono, Novell, Ubuntu at 7:57 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Yet another distribution makes the decision to put Mono in the wastebasket; Apple keeps Microsoft’s and Novell’s MonoTouch out
LAST NIGHT we wrote about Netrunner, which removes Mono from Ubuntu GNU/Linux (Mint actually). Someone who read about Netrunner has told us that SchoolOS is also removing Mono. “See part A , toberemove section,” he told us. Another Ubuntu derivative that removed Mono was gNewSense [1, 2] (it later moved to Debian).
“Another Ubuntu derivative that removed Mono was gNewSense…”Who is left to support Mono? Surely not Fedora and Red Hat (the GNU/Linux leader). Even Apple is virtually blocking MonoTouch right now (for background about MonoTouch, see [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]).
In other news, Ryan Paul, who is a longtime promoter of Mono and Moonlight, seems like the latest person to promote Microsoft’s ‘embrace’ of “Open Source” (for Windows only). He writes about CoApp [via Slashdot], which has so far been promoted by Microsoft boosters [1, 2]. Paul is an excellent journalist (we usually agree with him) and he is attempting to promote “Open Source” as a whole (regardless of the underlying platform), but as pointed out in the comments section, he spreads the misconcpetion (in the headline) that it’s about “development” rather than just installation for Windows.
Here at Techrights we consider CoApp to be a misguided idea that only empowers Microsoft. █
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03.03.10
Posted in Debian, Europe, Free/Libre Software, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Office Suites, OpenDocument, OpenOffice at 6:18 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: More migrations to Free software are seen in Germany and setbacks are spotted elsewhere in Europe
OpenOffice.org continues to evolve under Oracle’s guard, which is good news. According to the following article, OpenOffice.org also continues to gain greater adoption in Germany. Here is Bull speaking about its migrations to OpenOffice.org. [English translation]
Insgesamt wurde weltweit auf mehr als 8.000 Arbeitsplätzen, davon 500 in Deutschland, das Lizenzkosten-freie Office-Paket installiert. Durch den konsequenten Einsatz von offenen Standards setzt Bull auf eine zukunftsfähige IT-Strategie, die die Abhängigkeit von kommerziellen Anwendungen und proprietären Standards verringert – getreu dem Firmen-Claim „Architect of an Open World™“.
That’s a lot more desktops running Free software and ODF. Bull has a customer base with more than 100,000 installations worldwide. There is also this new update about Munich’s migration to Debian GNU/Linux and ODF:
The consolidated IT of the city of Munich is reporting at CeBIT 2010 on converting their workstations to Linux and OpenOffice.
The migration to the free office package was finalized for Munich. All 15,000 office PCs of the city council will work on OpenOffice, under Linux or Windows. In the context of CeBIT Open Source, city experts and the DBI service will answer questions about the migration at booth F24. On display will be their Wollmux software tool for personalized templates and forms administration.
We wrote about Munich’s important migration (which Microsoft tried to derail) on numerous occasions before [1, 2].
The trickier part, as Holland shows us, is getting rid of proprietary lock-ins and never returning to them again. Here is what Glyn Moody wrote about “The Continuing Scandal of Vendor Lock-in“:
This is a strong argument for mandating open source/open standards solutions in the public sector: depending on “level playing fields” as Microsoft demands so vociferously is actually surrendering to the status quo because of the huge lock-in problem. The only way to get true equality of opportunity is to force people to move to open standards, and *then* let the market operate freely.
Moody has a new example of this Microsoft Office lock-in. He refers to the Microsoft-occupied Open University [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] which requests “application forms [for a CIO] only in .doc or .pdf…”
Speaking of lock-in, Pinguinpat has added to our Wiki this new page about how Microsoft is not only removing choice at the OEM level, but also goes further to rob taxpayers for increased lock-in:
Belgian tax money,
The Belgian national government is actually giving ‘less gifted’ people the opportunity to buy a computer to get access to the Internet.
Beautiful right? Well no: the minister in charge refuses to halt the cartel between Microsoft, computer manufacturers and vendors.
Getting a computer includes buying Microsoft software. So for every sold computer, Belgian tax money goes directly to Microsoft.
Minister Van Quickenborne minister ict – openVLD doesn’t seem to care. As usual Microsoft doesn’t need to take the law seriously.
It’s one thing when a private company decides to trade with an abusive monopoly but entirely another when government institutions do so at taxpayers’ expense and without their permission/approval. █
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01.14.10
Posted in Debian, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Mono, Novell at 6:56 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: MEPIS is listing Novell’s Mono among non-Free software, as it probably ought to
MEPIS is a popular GNU/Linux distribution which is built on top of KDE. The KDE 3.5-based build of SimplyMEPIS 8.0.15 is said to include Mono, but this is not correct (Distrolove is inaccurate).
Warren Woodford has announced the release of SimplyMEPIS8.0.15, a new update of the beginner-friendly distribution based on Debian’s stable branch.
What’s New in SimplyMEPIS 8.0.15 :
> Devian 5
> 2.6.27 Linux kernel
> OpenOffice.org 3.1.1
> Firefox 3.5.6
> BIND 9.6.1-P2
> Skype 2.1.0.47
> Mono 2.4.2.3
> you can play any audio/video files.
Having taken a look at the official press release, Mono seems like just an addon, which is advertised alongside the proprietary Skype. █
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12.27.09
Posted in Debian, FSF, GNU/Linux, GPL, Law, Microsoft, Mono, Novell, Ubuntu at 10:28 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Summary: gNewSense is shifting to Debian codebase, shafting Mono, and the debate about Mono and Moonlight reaches new levels
THE FSF has already taken a stance against the use of Mono and the SFLC has shown that Moonlight is not acceptable from a legal perspective (the latest “promise” from Microsoft has at least 10 holes in it).
gNewSense, the distribution which Richard Stallman is currently using, has already removed Mono [1, 2] and gNewSense developers are now “dropping Ubuntu” (not our words) and moving to Debian, just like MEPIS did. From the site’s updated FAQ (“modified on December 23, 2009, at 09:42 PM”):
13. Will gNewSense 3.0 be based on Debian instead of Ubuntu, and why?
Yes, because:
* Debian separates free and non-free software better, so it’s easier to make a fully free derivative out of it.
* Debian supports the architectures we want to support (e.g. MIPS).
* it suits our infrastructure better (easier development).
Since Gobuntu never materialised [1, 2], this means that there is no longer a truly free/libre variant of Ubuntu.
gNewSense’s reasons are known (see above). In the case of MEPIS, the reasons had to do with infrastructure too. One cannot help wondering if Ubuntu’s increasing reliance on Mono also had something to do with this decision, even subconsciously.
To quote a conversation that came up an hour ago in our IRC channel (the full log will be posted tomorrow):
| kecskebak |
Did anyone listen to the latest Ubuntu UK Podcast? |
Dec 27 13:25 |
| kecskebak |
Talking about Silverlight / Moonlight |
Dec 27 13:25 |
| kecskebak |
“At last a real Microsoft Open Source application…” |
Dec 27 13:25 |
| kecskebak |
“Watch the Winter Olympics on Ubuntu” Yeah, right… |
Dec 27 13:26 |
| oiaohm |
God |
Dec 27 13:26 |
| oiaohm |
Its not really open source while MS hold the cards to revoke the licence. |
Dec 27 13:26 |
| oiaohm |
Some of the ubuntu guy are legal morons. |
Dec 27 13:27 |
| kecskebak |
That’s a typical Ubuntu attitude to software freedom, sadly |
Dec 27 13:28 |
| oiaohm |
Problem is most of them have no clues what freedom is. |
Dec 27 13:29 |
| oiaohm |
So will have to learn the leason the hard way. |
Dec 27 13:29 |
| kecskebak |
I think the attraction of GNU/Linux in the UK is it crashes less or you don’t have anti-virus |
Dec 27 13:31 |
| kecskebak |
The software freedom part is seen as rather eccentric and for geeks |
Dec 27 13:31 |
| kecskebak |
Anyone who believes in anything in the UK tends to be regarded as rather suspicious |
Dec 27 13:31 |
| kecskebak |
That’s why Richard Dawkins gets a kicking in the press |
Dec 27 13:31 |
| oiaohm |
Software freedom is about data protection kecskebak |
Dec 27 13:32 |
| oiaohm |
I want to be able to access anything I create in the future. |
Dec 27 13:32 |
| kecskebak |
Yes – that’s precisely why I moved from Flash to Inkscape |
Dec 27 13:32 |
| oiaohm |
If you don’t have direct control over the software you don’t have direct control of your data so you are in a invisable jail with your data held hostage. |
Dec 27 13:33 |
| amarsh04 |
ms-publisher has been a real trap that way |
Dec 27 13:33 |
Regarding the text of the new Moonlight covenant, Groklaw writes: “So Moonlight is being framed as a proprietary product, then, I gather.” Groklaw highlights what it calls an “interesting bit” from the covenant, namely: ““Moonlight Implementation” means only those specific portions of Moonlight 3 or Moonlight 4 that run only as Conforming Runtimes within a Conforming Host on a Personal Computer and are not licensed under GPLv3 or a Similar License.”
One of our readers, Brandon, has written a long post to explain Microsoft’s “Mono/Moonlight Agenda”. To quote just a portion (it is a very detailed analysis):
Many relevant points are brought up in this section. James Plamondon states (infamously) that “Every line of code that is written to our standards is a small victory; every line of code that is written to any other standard, is a small defeat.”
This would imply that by using the C# standard (ECMA 334 & 335), Microsoft receives a small victory. An example of defeat would be lines of code written in Java, C++ (Standardized, C++98 or C++03 for example), Python, etc.
The second paragraph explains that they want to use psychological, economic, and political weapons to convince people to adopt their standards. Often I hear a lot of business talk about wanting to use Microsoft because most of their customer base is Windows machines. Other excuses for sticking with Microsoft has been the FUD “Total Cost of Ownership” studies that falsely prove Microsoft is cheaper or that GNU/Linux is more expensive.
Some days ago we wrote about Novell’s removal of GPL-licensed code from MonoDevelop [1, 2]. Why is Novell still against the GNU GPL? Its ally Microsoft hates the GPL with passion, so this may not seem so absurd a move after all.
In defence of the GPL, Groklaw writes regarding Glyn Moody’s article and Google’s highly-cited document: “The GPL would mean there’d be no need to work hard to avoid fragmenting. If you choose a license that can fragment, you will get fragmenting, because proprietary desires are sure to come into the picture, as they did with UNIX. That’s exactly what is wrong with Apache. It’s open, until it isn’t.”
At this stage, Mono too is being closed. It’s not so surprising considering the fact that Novell calls itself a “mixed source” company. It’s false marketing [1, 2]. █
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07.19.09
Posted in Debian, FSF, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Mono, Novell, Patents, Ubuntu at 11:03 am by Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Solang photo manager does not require Mono
Summary: How F-spot would force Ubuntu, for example, to adopt more Mono applications with non-ECMA .NET components
LAST NIGHT we arrived at an interesting realisation. If F-spot will depend on Banshee, which according to the plan we have heard that it will [PDF], then Ubuntu, which already uses F-Spot, may have to swallow this other pill too — one which contain non-ECMA components (Banshee that is). So, the latest statement from the FSF aside and also API concessions aside (Mono gives Microsoft power and leverage over GNU/Linux APIs), there is an inherent legal problem here, which is difficult to stop. Another prospective concern is the increasing proximity between Moonlight and Banshee [1, 2, 3, 4], which might bring Microsoft codecs even further into GNU/Linux.
Check out this new mashup from Linux Today, as selected by its editor Carla.
[phred14] [Who is asking for Mono?]
Simple answer – nobody. Mono is being pushed into Linux, not pulled. So far the one application that’s dragging it into “default” isn’t even very important, and Mono/C# isn’t even critical. A Mono-free C#-free clone of that application was built in practically no time.
Simply put, Mono gives Microsoft control over a Linux desktop API, even without patent threats. The ECMA standard is irrelevant, if only because it’s incomplete, and *always* needs extensions. In order to field a functional, complete Mono, you need to start cloning Microsoft stuff. You may as well base the Linux UI on WINE.”
[GreyGeek] [Re: Re: Re: Mono a solution looking for a problem?]
[...]
The lack of MONO apps IS glaring, isn’t it!
What’s even MORE glaring is that De Icaza has been working on MONO since December of 2000, when he changed the name of his company, Helix Code, to Ximian in order to focus on developing MONO. Yet, NINE years later there is only a handful of MONO apps. IF MONO is the such a marvelous RAD tool, why has it taken so long to produce so few applications?
Also, if .NET is such a marvelous CROSS PLATFORM tool where code written on one platform can be recompiled with few or no changes on another platform, WHY isn’t Linux being FLOODED with .NET applications?
The answer is simple. MONO is a patent trap and most Penguins realize it. So, just like it did with the ISO committees, Microsoft is flooding the Linux development groups with .NET moles and the Linux forums with astroturfers and TEs.
GNU/Linux distributions like BLAG reject Mono for obvious reasons (not just the adherence to the FSF’s principles). On the other hand, Ubuntu’s suppression of discussion about Mono [1, 2, 3] is characteristic of a betrayal of democratic principles, or at least ones of an open community thriving in liberties. Humanity for others, unless they dislike Mono. It is indicative of a ruling minority taking decision-making powers from an opposing majority (most people reject Mono), which leads to unrest.
Speaking for myself, I am truly torn here. I have used Ubuntu since its very first release (4.10) and I still have Ubuntu installed on 3 separate boxes. To manually delete Mono is still to send out the message that a Mono-defending distribution is acceptable because subsequent removal of Mono is never accounted for; the message does not get across and users are assumed to have accepted Mono when choosing this one distribution among many hundreds. I remain optimistic that Ubuntu/Canonical will keep this debate alive and maybe resolve its differences. The facts about Mono are not hard to come by. █
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