GNOME vs KDE, Linux Myths, and the Linux Toilet
In tonight's Linux news Matt Hartley dispels those persistent Linux myths. Bruce Byfield uses KDE and GNOME projects' financial statements to analyze their priorities and direction. Ubuntu community wallpapers for 14.10 are beginning to be chosen and some guy built a Linux toilet in hopes of getting a job.
In our top story tonight, Thomas Ruecker recently got "rightsized" out of his job and to show off his skills, he built a smart-toilet powered by a BeagleBoard and Linux. It apparently monitors the amount of water used and tweets it out for folks to ponder. It's a drop in the bucket for the environment, but hopefully Ruecker can impress prospective employers with his skill and imagination.
Bruce Byfield says one can glean the direction and priorities of Open Source projects by following the money. He was comparing the last quarterly financial statements from KDE and GNOME and said you sure can tell the "two projects have very different practices and are in very difference situations." He goes through the details but summaries his findings:
KDE's bottom line has remained much the same since 2009, differing only 5-7% each year. GNOME has a recent record of reduced income and increased expenses, and, at the same time, is spending less on key items. While KDE seems likely to continue for the next couple of years in much the way that it has in the past, GNOME looks as though it may soon be forced to become more active about seeking sponsorships or else to reconsider its priorities and reorganize its daily operations.
Matt Hartley can not sit by while the same old egregious myths continue to circulate. He says, "This nonsense needs to be put to rest once and for all." One myth discussed is hardware incompatibility. Hartley said, "I grow tired of hearing how Linux hardware compatibility isn't as good as with Windows. This is so false I want to scream it from the rooftops! It's factually, without any question, a lie."
The one that really "bugs" Hartley though is "the belief that there's not any decent software titles for Linux." He says, "Obvious titles that might be missing for Linux would be MS Office and maybe, for some users, Photoshop. Generally speaking though, the software available for Linux users is fantastic."
In other news:
* Meet the 12 Ubuntu 14.10 Wallpaper Contest Winners (So Far)
* Freexian’s first report about Debian Long Term Support