[sf-lug] Big progress on launchpad's bug number one

[Christian Einfeldt]

hi,

On Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 11:03 AM, Rick Moen <rick at linuxmafia.com> wrote:

> Quoting Larry Cafiero (larry.cafiero at gmail.com):
>
> > So noted and I stand corrected. I was wondering aloud whether credit
> > was being given (e.g., to Ubuntu) where credit wasn't due.
>
>  Anyway:  Proprietary OS (MS-Windows) with user control over and local
> custody of their data is hypothesised to lose market share to
> proprietary OS (Chrome OS)


>From Wikipedia:

*Google Chrome OS* is a Linux-based operating
system<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linux-based_operating_system>designed
by
Google <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google> to work exclusively with web
applications <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_application>. Google
announced the operating system on July 7, 2009 and made it an open
source<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source>project, called
Chromium
OS <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_OS>, in November
2009.[3]<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome_OS#cite_note-PC_World-3>
[4] <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome_OS#cite_note-Google_11-09-4>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome_OS
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Chrome_OS#cite_note-Google_11-09-4>

===========

One of the biggest challenges for  free software is bringing money into
FOSS communities.  I see Google as being more FOSS-friendly than Microsoft,
and so I am happy to see Google ChromeOS grow in popularity, and if selling
ChromeOS notebooks is going to help that, I am happy about that.


> heavily reliant on cloud hosting (unless
> using non-default offline operation where available), whose OS
> publisher specialises in tracking users and gets custody of the user's
> data and builds real-time metrics on just about everything he/she does.
> Um, yay?
>

These are some serious issues with ChromeOS.  Rick's point is well taken,
that we could go from the frying pan (Microsoft) to the fire (Google
tracking).  But we have to start somewhere, and if Google ChromeOS will
help people see that it is easy to use GUIs other than just Microsoft
offerings, I am in favor of it.  I don't see Microsoft making serious
contributions to the Linux kernel, but Google does.  Google has its summer
of code project.  Google uses Goobuntu internally, and pays Canonical for
support, and Canonical, in turn, provides me with my free (libre and beer)
OS.  I would love it if everyone would follow Larry Cafiero's example and
give to the distro of their choice.

http://larrythefreesoftwareguy.wordpress.com/2012/10/22/money-meet-mouth/

But until that happens, FOSS communities need to partner with commercial
entities, and those commercial entities are going to have warts.  We need
to engage with Google to move them toward less intrusiveness and more
freedom.  But at least Google is heavily dependent on free software for
their survival, which is not true of Microsoft.  So Ken's point is
well-taken:  the success of ChromeOS is a step forward.  tick's point is
that it is also a half-step back, which is also well-taken, but at least
that moves us forward one half-step net.
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