03.01.12
Gemini version available ♊︎Linus Torvalds Scoffs at OpenSUSE
Summary: Torvalds gets fed up with SUSE
OPENSUSE lost many of its key developers and leaders, including Greg, who works closely with Linus Torvalds. Not so long ago Greg et al. got Tumbleweed rolling, after they had founded OpenSUSE. “Tumbleweed was announced with or shortly after their 11.4 release. I was a bit skeptical at the time, because of my experience with other rolling distributions,” writes J.A. Watson.
The important news though is that according to Brian Proffitt and others, “Torvalds throws openSUSE security tantrum” (more strong language from him):
Linux creator Linus Torvalds has issued a rare public spanking for openSUSE after falling foul of its security procedures.
Torvalds has posted a rant on Google+ about his experience installing openSUSE on a MacBook Air. The installation requires the root password for many functions and he went to the Bugzilla thread to argue that this was a stupid policy, which got changes in some areas of the code, like adding wireless networks.
But the straw that broke the penguin’s back was when his daughter Daniela called him from school to complain that she couldn’t add a printer to her computer without the root password. Linus lost it, and went public with his complaints.
“He has a point,” writes Pogson. “There are systems where these settings are crucial for security but a kid’s notebook at school is proabably not one of them. In a business you may well not want 1000 nude photos to be printed in the boss’ office ( I have seen that. A student caught the principal’s password…) but in a school with the local system admin protecting what he wants to protect, not so much.”
“I think Linus has not tried Debian yet, so may be its time for Linus to give Debian a try,” writes Muktware. Debian GNU/Linux is indeed very good. Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols , a fan of SUSE, responds to Torvalds and Rupert Murdoch’s tabloids characteristically use sensationalist headlines, just like those who covered the SP2 of SLE* 11 as though it was revolutionary because of the 3.0 Linux. Here is a toned-down article about it.
The bottom line is, SUSE and Torvalds are no friends. █
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NotZed said,
March 1, 2012 at 10:14 pm
Well maybe he should start is own distribution then, GIT/Linux might be a suitable name …
TBH – how is this ‘important news’? In this context he’s just a user like all of us and his celebrity status hardly makes his opinion any more important than any other.
He can do what we all do: have a rant and put up with it, or go try something else.