Security Malpractice, Windows Support, and T-Shirts
Today in Linux news James Sanders took Linux Mint and other distributions to task for lack of security, saying some can't even be classified distributions. Elsewhere, Bruce Byfield explained how Linux doesn't really need Windows support anymore while Jack Wallen demonstrated how close to Windows Zorin OS can be. Wired reviewed System76's Lemur and Dedoimedio reviewed review reviewers reviews.
TechRepublic.com's James Sanders today said that Linux Mint's recent security issues point to larger issues in maintaining a distribution. He said, "It increasingly appears that the Linux Mint team, led by project leader Clement Lefebvre, is spread too thin when it comes to security." Sanders repeated the complaint that Mint doesn't have a security advisory system, and in fact, he spotlighted several other Linux projects with the same or similar shortcomings. But he went further by saying that Mint not only doesn't have their own security advisories, but they tend to disable Debian's or Ubuntu's if it breaks their Mint desktop Cinnamon. "This is not a Linux distribution and this is completely backwards from the way things are supposed to work," he said. "Creating a pseudo-fork of an existing distribution to showcase a DE, while blacklisting security updates because it interferes with the DE is staggeringly irresponsible and tantamount to security malpractice." Sanders believes hobbyist projects shouldn't ever be advertised as "stable, secure, or production-ready." He went further and blamed everyone. "The problem with this scenario is that the fault lies with practically everyone." If KDE 4 and GNOME 3 hadn't be released before they were ready, Mint and Cinnamon would have never become so popular he said.
Bruce Byfield today wrote that the days of Linux users needing a Windows backup are over. Maybe before the turn of the century folks dual-booted for critical applications that only ran on Windows or games. But Byfield today opined that Linux applications have matured enough to be sufficient and even gaming is improving. "Relying on open source has gone from a quixotic fantasy to a serious alternative. Dual-booting, virtual installations of Windows or other methods of co-existing with Windows have become more a matter of caution than the necessity they once were."
Dedoimedo today wrote a piece saying that "Linux users can't read good." Mainly, he was annoyed by folks who had harsh comments about his reviews of late. Seems Dedoimedo had a run of bad luck during testing of Linux distributions lately and loyal users of the given distributions made unhelpful and often critical comments. Many times they would suggest he try things that he had tried and even written about. Apparently, these folks aren't reading the full text, but Dedoimedo said they just can't read or can't read and understand. I think he was being facetious as he concluded that if distribution developers or their loyal users can't accept constructive criticism, their products will "NEVER rise mighty as a consumer product."
In other news:
* Zorin OS: The Linux Distribution for Windows XP and 7 Fans
* openSUSE T-Shirts for Leap Day