[Nottingham] For info Fedora 17 out today

[Brian Pickford]

On 29 May 2012 15:59, david at gbenet.com <david at gbenet.com> wrote:

>
> All major distros at one time had root login as a default. Opensuse still
> has it as does
> Linux Mint. So why suddenly have these distros thought "Oh blimey let's
> get rid of root so
> that end users can not dig into their systems!"
>
This is a non sequitur,  user can dig into their systems where the root
account is disabled by default.
This seems to be just plain wrong as a assertion - many times over the last
few weeks you have claimed it has been removed. It is disabled by default,
you can re-enable it, this has been pointed out every time you make this
claim.

>
> When Linux was first introduced - everybody was allowed to play. That
> principle has lasted
> a good 12 to 15 years. Some distros have no apt-get in the file
> repositories. What if they
> decided not to include encryption? And to make matters worse not include
> it in their
> downloads? I think you would be upset by that - especially since gpg
> 1.4.11 in all its
> flavours has been installed as a default for many many years.
>
I am guilty of not knowing or caring about the version of gpg - but you can
build from source and maintain a repository of your own for Suse, Fedora
and Ubuntu (and others I guess) as a service to the community, if you so
choose.


> We are talking about principle here - who decides - what users can and can
> not do. What
> software they are allowed to install and so on. It is a slippery slope.
> I've already
> mentioned Seahorse - in the original package you can set the passphrase
> time - now that
> function has been edited out.#
>
I remember using Suse to build from source 10 years ago, I don't want to go
back to that method. The dependency issues sucked up too much time. I
prefer the Ubuntu package management on the rare occasion that I have to
build from source today.
Are you saying that you can't gain access to the source and add that
functionality back, compile it and share it?

>
> Linux was once free and open source - even Ubuntu has changed to being a
> closed shop. The
> Ubuntu you have now is very very much different from the Ubuntu of 5 years
> ago. If your
> mind does not grasp the changes to your distro - what then?
>

The talk 10 years ago was about how linux would become main stream. Now
that is has, you still have access to source based distros if you want
http://www.gentoo.org/
It seems that your issue is that there are flavours of Linux that just work
and people can use them with out knowledge of the underlying software. I do
not think that I have been diminished by this, in fact the increase in
Linux user-base has greatly speeded up the provision of hardware drivers
imo.


> I remember what Fedora was like 12 years ago. It is a different product
> now. Then it was
> like walking on thin or thick ice one was never quite sure when it would
> fail - but it
> would fail. Today Fedora is at least a bit more robust. That's all one can
> say about it.
>
> Ubuntu? Sharp and snappy open as it was in the past -  now - a heavily
> branded Linux and a
> closed shop. Try and install the real version of Seahorse.

Which version? I'll give it a go, just for the hell of it.

> All your open source has been
> re-written for Ubuntu - at this goes for Fedora Opensuse and all the other
> major distros.
> Whereas in the past you installed real open source software - not a
> version that they who
> ever they are - think you will have.



> So for me Fedora-17 is just like Fedora-16 - with much fewer user options
> - much less
> choice in installable software - and all software re-written to fit in
> with Fedora. It
> will get to the point when only approved software can run on Fedora. Like
> Microsoft their
> software only runs on a Microsoft O/S without any backward compatibility.
> Fedora-17 is no
> different as are other Linux distros Ubuntu Opensuse.
>
Do you have a published roadmap  that supports your statements here?
Recently I heard on radio 4 that Andriod was being criticised for being too
open - in the context of vulnerability and it is the most locked down linux
that I have used.

>
> As I said I'd not waste my time burning a DVD on what is junk - to me.
> Others may praise
> and give it every first class rating shout from the roof tops how
> wonderful it is. People
> go from one release to the next with apparent mindless oblivion to the
> changes that are
> made to their Linux distro. Newcomers have no idea what came before.
>
Take a look at Minix http://www.minix3.org/


> But when you get to being over 60 have used Linux for 15 years or more -
> then you will
> have a little history. You will be aware of the changes. Perhaps in 30
> years time people

will be buying Linux with an end-user licence like Microsoft's. Who knows.
>
I have that amount history now and more with other systems. I'm sure many
others on this list do as well. No one else seems to support your position.

> David
>
> - --
> “See the sanity of the man! No gods, no angels, no demons, no body.
> Nothing of the
> kind.Stern, sane,every brain-cell perfect and complete even at the moment
> of death. No
> delusion.” https://linuxcounter.net/user/512854.html - http://gbenet.com
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