Out greater issue, IMHA(ssessment), is that Moonlight and OOXML translators (C#) will force many of us Linux users to embrace Mono regardless of what DE we use. Microsoft will say “yes, we support you, so just pick that Microsoft-patented Mono software, but be aware that we can sue you.” Be alerted as Microsoft has already resorted to extortion, but it does this quietly and businesses that pay Microsoft for ‘protection’ prefer to keep the settlement deals secret. The last thing we need is for them to be dependent on Mono when much better software can be developed differently.

From my viewpoint as a long-time Fedora user, it seems that the Fedora guys have gone to GREAT GREAT lengths to minimize how far into the system Mono penetrates, to the point where it could easily be ripped out at a moment’s notice without major loss of functionality.

Also, a few conversations I’ve had on the Fedora list suggest that the Fedora devs would rather people use Java than Mono for this sort of programming. A good discussion on this is here: https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-list/2007-November/msg00772.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.NET_Framework

@@@@@@@@@
Standardization and licensing
In August 2000, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and Intel worked to standardize CLI and the C# programming language. By December 2001, both were ratified ECMA standards (ECMA 335 and ECMA 334). ISO followed in April 2003 (ISO/IEC 23271 and ISO/IEC 23270).
While Microsoft and their partners hold patents for CLI and C#, ECMA and ISO require that all patents essential to implementation be made available under “reasonable and non-discriminatory (RAND) terms.” In addition to meeting these terms, the companies have agreed to make the patents available royalty-free.
However, this does not apply for the part of the .NET Framework which is not covered by the ECMA/ISO standard, which includes Windows Forms, ADO.NET, and ASP.NET. Patents that Microsoft holds in these areas may deter non-Microsoft implementations of the full framework.
@@@@@@@@@@

Additionally, you are supposing that ECMA is warranty enough to avoid patent threats. Check the two patent (non)licenses of Microsoft for OOXML and you’ll check that ECMA is far from any warranty regarding patents. Indeed ISO, who many times grants RAND standards instead of open standards.

avahi-sharp
banshee
beagle
beagle-evolution
beagle-gui
boo
bytefx-data-mysql
cowbell
daap-sharp
db4o
dbus-sharp
drapes
evolution-sharp
f-spot
gecko-sharp2
gmime-sharp
gnome-sharp
gsf-sharp
gtk-sharp
gtk-sharp2
gtk-sharp-gapi
gtksourceview-sharp
ibm-data-db2
ikvm
kerry
lat
mod_mono
mono-data
mono-data-firebird
mono-data-oracle
mono-data-postgresql
mono-data-sqlite
mono-data-sybase
mono-debugger
monodevelop
monodoc
mono-extras
mono-jscript
mono-locale-extras
mono-nunit
monotone-server
mono-web
mono-winforms
muine
nant
njb-sharp
tomboy
xsp

Total: 48 packages.

Presumably Fedora 7 has the same number, or greater. I’ll do a similar audit on F7 later.

Apparently, there are some big announcements on their way. News just in:

More Big Name PCs With Ubuntu Pre-Installed Coming Soon
http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/07/more-big-name-p.html

“In a recent post on his blog, Shuttleworth encouraged the Ubuntu community to dream up the perfect free software laptop. He also launched a mailing list and a wiki dedicated to the topic that he hopes will help send a “ripple effect” through the PC industry.” [emphasis mine]

Let’s see how dedication for freedom works out for them. They have been criticised a lot for taking shortcuts (including ‘forbidden’ drivers and components).

GNOME programs that would need Mono are:
Tomboy, Beagle, F-Spot

Maybe we should maintain a blacklist…

Definitely! Awareness seems to be the missing piece though. Speaking for myself, I am very well aware of their preference are and I respect that. I talked to/confronted people who came from Windows development to GNU/Linux and wanted to maintain (even thrive) in their previously-acquired skills.

That said, have a look at this short article which was published last night. It should serve as a lesson to Xandros and Linspire.

http://blog.wired.com/monkeybites/2007/07/ubuntu-must-pla.html

Ubuntu Must ‘Play To Its Strengths” to Beat Microsoft Add as My Number One

“You can’t out-Windows Windows, he says. Defining and playing to Ubuntu’s strengths are what will make free software succeed on the desktop.”

Remember another thing: Mark Shuttleworth said that he would not put wine on those Dell PCs because Linux has its own strengths.

While we’re at it, maybe you can help push this into the front page. 24 Diggs in the past 5 hours…

http://digg.com/linux_unix/Ubuntu_Must_Play_To_Its_Strengths_to_Beat_Microsoft

Personally, I would like to see Mono being an Add-on CD type of deal for those that want it (choice etc). I can understand the rationale for Mono though, it represents much less of a barrier to entry in developing for a core platform such as Gnome and that makes sense.

My hope with Mono is that it, and its supporters, can wrestle control of the specification from Microsoft by a more open standards process. This will eventually happing with OOXML. I know, I know – it’s Microsoft and nothing can be taken for granted!

http://port25.technet.com/archive/2006/08/11/Let_2700_s-talk-Mono_3A00_–Sam-interviews-Miguel-de-Icaza.aspx

This is from Microsoft. It is worrying to see that Microsoft (through Miguel) is apparently now deciding what belongs inside the the core of Linux. Why aren’t people more aware of this?

http://www.gnome.org/~seth/blog/mono

http://www.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=02/02/19/1651244

The patent trap: If Gnome gets Mono

Thursday February 21, 2002 (09:24 AM GMT)

A lot has happened in 5+ years.

I’m afraid it does Roy.

Here are four packages on the Fedora 7 DVD:

mono-core-1.2.3-3.fc7.i386.rpm
gmime-sharp-2.2.3-5.fc7.i386.rpm
gnome-sharp-2.16.0-1.fc6.i386.rpm
gtk-sharp2-2.10.0-4.fc7.i386.rpm

In addition to Tomboy:
tomboy-0.6.1-1.fc7.i386.rpm
http://www.gnome.org/projects/tomboy/

There’s also Beagle:
libbeagle-0.2.16.2-5.fc7.i386
http://beagle-project.org/Installing_prerequisites

Also, I recommend you read this:
http://duncan.mac-vicar.com/blog/archives/145

“Then I found dbus-1-mono and I raised an eyebrow. I thought “Mono is coming too.”. Not big deal, only that not only mono-core was there but mono-data and mono-web. Why a framework would depend in mono-web?. I am completely sure an IDE would depend on it, but a network applet?”

I’m also concerned that a number of Mono-built Gnome Applets might be poisoning the tree, however proving this is a matter of an audit – no simple task.

I’m currently in the process of examining the spec files of every package on the Fedora 7 DVD, to try to ascertain the full and precise extent of Mono infiltration into Fedora. Stay tuned.

New Mono-Based Applications for GNOME in Fedora Core 5–Part 1

The hardest concern to address is that of patents. This worry is muddied by the fact that C# was handed by Microsoft to the ECMA (European Association for Standardizing Information and Communication Systems), standards organization as a language standard. As a standard, C# is technically out of Microsoft’s hands to control. However, that doesn’t mean that the rest of .NET doesn’t contain patent issues. In 2002, Microsoft applied for just such a patent, causing a ripple of concern throughout the technology community. Many decried the patent as too broad, and potentially even a violation of the ECMA’s rules for the standards it controls.

Speculation continues to run rampant on whether the patent will be granted, and what this patent will ultimately mean for anyone using .NET technology if Microsoft chooses to enforce the patent in a way that will have it invalidated for ECMA handling. In the meantime, the Mono and DotGNU projects continue on and various groups are throwing their hats into this collective pot.

We’ve accumulated a lot more material and pointers. The worry here is that complacency might lead to risk (through gradual embrace). Recall what happened with MP3 format after many years of “ignorance is bliss”.

I am aware that Red Hat does not distribute Mono ‘out of the box’ (the same applies to DVD playback, some fonts technology, among many other things). One issue to be aware of, however, is behind-the-scenes, Microsoft violation claims s. Microsoft ‘collects’ money from Linux users (without even being specific, mind you). That’s where the distributor is irrelevant. These threats are made secretly. It’s a shame that few people are aware of this, so they can’t protest and call “RICO ACT”.

http://www.ricoact.com/ricoact/nutshell.asp

I can’t agree. I’ve just tested it few minutes ago and the only problem was that mono-core has Tomboy dependency (but afaik Tomboy is written in Mono). So maybe other distributions are affected (afair openSUSE is) but Fedora 7 isn’t. Mono can be safely removed and it won’t delete half of your system. I’m 100% Mono free (at least I don’t have any Mono and Mono related packages installed). Fedora rocks