05.27.09
Ubuntu’s Mono Booster Calls it “Monobuntu”
Turning stereo to mono, with Banshee
Summary: Tracking attempts to push Banshee into Ubuntu by default
AS THEY try to insert the Novell-owned, Mono-based media player into Ubuntu, promoters of Mono would even call it “Monobuntu” now. Here are some notes.
There is no Banshee in Karmic (for now) and there is no response yet to the concern that ECMA is not being responsive. Specifically to Jo Shields, Jose_X writes.
Jo, realize that following a standard created by a patent aggressor is a LIABILITY not an asset. Stop trumpeting mono’s adherence to the two dotnet specs as an asset. It’s the opposite.
There are some more interesting comments right here. Mono is resented for the trouble it brings. █
“There is a substantive effort in open source to bring such an implementation of .Net to market, known as Mono and being driven by Novell, and one of the attributes of the agreement we made with Novell is that the intellectual property associated with that is available to Novell customers.”
–Bob Muglia, Microsoft President
Needs Sunlight said,
May 27, 2009 at 1:56 am
Someone needs to sit down and have a beer with Mark Shuttleworth, after slapping him (lightly) upside the head, and set him to cleaning house. Something went seriously wrong in that Jo Shields was granted MOTU.
It’s easier to keep a clean house clean than to clean up a mess after it’s happened. Bringing in mono, or worse, mono proponents brings the mess by the bucket.
http://brainstorm.ubuntu.com/idea/110/
RimZi said,
June 3, 2009 at 2:41 am
There is no reason to believe that users (developers) of mono will be sued for patent infringement.
That probability of sucha a fact is the same as:
1) Suing Wine for Win32 Patent infringement (there are many)
2) Suing OpenOffice for office patent infringements
3) Suing Linux for those 200 patent infringements
4) Suing about any non-microsoft software out there for patent-infringement
Please, stop spreading FUD. If Microsoft sues someone in the open-source world, it will most likely result in full-fledged all-out patent war, including the likes of IBM and other linux-friendly software corporations.
Cheers,
RimZi
Roy Schestowitz Reply:
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:03 am
Several points ought to be raised:
1) Microsoft need not sue. Extortion is not the same as lawsuits, but it is related (ultimatums).
2) Mono is a framework for building many applications, not just one.
3) You cannot work around .NET patents. It’s an interface.
4) Wine is rarely included in distributions by default
5) Wine does not encourage GNU/Linux developers to build .EXE files. It is more to do with running ‘legacy’ applications after a migration.
6) You parrot the unsubstantiated claim of “200 patent infringements” in Linux. If there were 200, why didn’t Microsoft use these against TomTom, which uses a fairly standard kernel?
7) Attacking vendors is not the same as attacking users or developers. This is why distributors should not include Mono by default. They expose themselves.
RimZi Reply:
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:31 am
OK, but can you then comment on Open Invention Network?
(http://www.openinventionnetwork.com/)
AFAIK, it now lists Mono as a protected project somewhere.
Roy Schestowitz Reply:
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:34 am
We don’t agree with OIN’s approach.