ru.linux

 
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 From : Sergey Lentsov                       2:4615/71.10   03 Mar 2002  15:39:29
 To : All
 Subject : URL: http://www.lwn.net/2002/0221/
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 

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    - [19]2001 Timeline
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    - [25]djbdns
 
    Here is the [26]permanent site for this page.
 
    See also: [27]last week's LWN.
 
 Leading items and editorials
 
    The joy of an unstable life. Some time ago, your editor was discussing
    Linux distributions on a mailing list for computer book authors. A
    correspondent there described the Debian distribution as "stale," far
    behind such modern products as Slackware. Perhaps that description is
    accurate: what do you say about a distribution that is still based on
    the 2.2 kernel, glibc 2.1, GNOME 1.0, and which does not include KDE
    at all? It does look like it is getting a little dusty.
 
    The interesting thing, of course, is that many (perhaps even most?)
    Debian users are not running the 2.2 "potato" release. With a quick
    configuration file edit and a massive apt-get command, any system can
    be upgraded to the unstable "sid" release. This is where Debian
    development is done, and it's anything but stale. If you want the
    bleeding edge, you'll probably find it there.
 
    The unstable distribution is not for everybody, of course. Your editor
    once performed an upgrade during a short window when the PAM packages
    were broken; the result was a system that nobody could log into.
    Following unstable through a major Perl or Python transition can be a
    bit of a challenge. And you never know what surprises may lurk within
    the latest version of your favorite utility. Unstable remains popular,
    though, and it is interesting to ponder why. There are things to be
    learned about the free software development process in the dynamics of
    the unstable distribution.
 
    The first thing worth pointing out, of course, is that the unstable
    distribution is usually solid as a rock. It's almost too stable, in
    that users can easily get into the habit of tracking the bleeding edge
    without watching (and being prepared) for problems. It works almost
    all the time.
 
    It is fun to be a part of the free software development process, and
    Debian unstable offers a relatively easy entry point into that
    process. If you want to see the latest feature in Galeon, check out
    what new video game has been added to emacs, or find out how badly the
    new binutils breaks kernel compilation, sid makes it easy. A simple
    upgrade command brings in the latest version, and all those obnoxious
    library dependency problems just go away. Anybody who wants to add
    their eyeballs to the thousands looking for bugs need only run
    unstable.
 
    Unstable also makes life easy for people who want to try out new
    software. It is still a rare distribution, for example, that includes
    Evolution 1.0 or later. When dealing with modern graphical
    applications, installing a package or building from source leads
    straight to shared library dependency madness. Sid users, however,
    need only type an apt-get command. This capability makes a whole range
    of interesting software available in a hassle-free manner.
 
    Free Software is a living product. As soon as it is burned onto a CD
    and stuffed into a box, a part of it dies. Half-dead software may be
    just what is needed for that corporate mail server, but it deprives
    the user of part of the free software community experience.
    Distributions like Debian unstable help to bring back part of that
    experience.
 
    (Debian, of course, also has a "testing" distribution which is not
    quite so quick to update as sid. Debian is also certainly not the only
    distributor which makes a development version available. [28]Mandrake
    Cooker is a great example of a development distribution with an active
    user community. Red Hat still makes "Rawhide" available, though they
    do not make it easy to find. Conectiva has a "[29]Snapshot"
    distribution available, complete with a list of developers who are
    responsible for the most bugs; Conectiva has an APT interface as well,
    of course. Most other distributors do not make their development
    versions available, which is a loss for both the distributor and the
    users.)
 
    Open source licensing helps racism? The Anti-Defamation league has
    posted [30]a report on racist video games. Indeed, some of the stuff
    being circulated out there looks to be seriously vile. What we are
    interested in here, however, is the ADL's look at how the games were
    made:
 
      Making Ethnic Cleansing was fairly simple. Its designers were able
      to use a powerful, freely available open-source game program or
      engine that "drives" the program by providing the basic operating
      instructions to the computer. The designers then simply plug in
      their message of hate.
 
    A bit more of where they are going with this argument can be seen in
    [31]this ZDNet article:
 
      Brian Marcus, a researcher in the ADL's Internet monitoring unit
      and author of the report, acknowledged the difficulty of using
      software licensing restrictions to limit hate speech, especially
      among the largely self-policing open-source community.
 
    There is no questioning the evil of racist video games. A proper game,
    after all, should allow the violent, bloody slaughter of dozens of
    people of all races. But when people start to point at open source
    licensing as part of the problem, it is time to get worried.
 
    Should open source licensing prohibit racist uses of the software? The
    [32]Open Source Definition is explicit on that point:
 
      The license must not restrict anyone from making use of the program
      in a specific field of endeavor. For example, it may not restrict
      the program from being used in a business, or from being used for
      genetic research.
 
    ...or from being used in appalling, hate-promoting games.
 
    Software developers are already coming under attack for writing code
    that is seen to promote (or simply fails to prevent) copyright
    infringement. The last thing we need is to be told that we must not
    allow our software to be used to promote racism. It's a small step
    from there to no end of other restrictions. The fight against racism
    is important and deserves our support, but that fight can not be won
    through the sacrifice of other rights.
 
    Inside this LWN.net weekly edition:
      * [33]Security: Internet draft on responsible security disclosure.
      * [34]Kernel: The beginnings of the rmap merge; shared page tables;
        the net gods are merciful.
      * [35]Distributions: TopologiLinux returns; Tinfoil Hat Linux.
      * [36]Development: Fenris tracer, Knoda database GUI, CUPS v1.1.14,
        ASPSeek 1.2.8, Analog 5.21, KDE 3.0 beta2, Gnome on Slackware,
        Flightgear simulator, Rindolf Perl dialect, Anjuta 0.1.9.
      * [37]Commerce: Mandrake Linux Corporate Club launched; Lindows.com
        Releases Opposition Papers; IDG's spam database.
      * [38]Letters: ALSA; Sync and bad assumptions.
 
    ...plus the usual array of reports, updates, and announcements.
 
    This Week's LWN was brought to you by:
      * [39]Jonathan Corbet, Executive Editor
 
    February 21, 2002
                                                        [40]Next: Security
 
    [41]Eklektix, Inc. Linux powered! Copyright Л 2002 [42]Eklektix, Inc.,
    all rights reserved
    Linux (R) is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds
 
 References
 
    1. http://lwn.net/
    2. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/security.php3
    3. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/kernel.php3
    4. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/dists.php3
    5. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/devel.php3
    6. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/commerce.php3
    7. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/press.php3
    8. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/announce.php3
    9. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/letters.php3
   10. http://lwn.net//2002/0221/bigpage.php3
   11. http://lwn.net/daily/
   12. http://linuxcalendar.com/
   13. http://lwn.net/stocks/
   14. http://lwn.net/Reviews/
   15. http://lwn.net/Gallery/
   16. http://lwn.net/archives/
   17. http://lwn.net/op/headlines.phtml
   18. http://lwn.net/op/Contact.html
   19. http://lwn.net/2001/features/Timeline/
   20. http://lwn.net/2001/features/oreilly2001/
   21. http://lwn.net/2001/features/OLS/
   22. http://lwn.net/2001/features/MandrakeSoft.php3
   23. http://lwn.net/2001/features/KernelSummit/
   24. http://lwn.net/2001/features/Singapore
   25. http://lwn.net/2001/features/djbdns.php3
   26. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/
   27. http://lwn.net/2002/0214/
   28. http://www.linux-mandrake.com/en/cookerdevel.php3
   29. http://snapshot.conectiva.com/
   30. http://www.adl.org/videogames/default.asp
   31. http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-840866.html
   32. http://opensource.org/docs/definition_plain.html
   33. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/security.php3
   34. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/kernel.php3
   35. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/dists.php3
   36. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/devel.php3
   37. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/commerce.php3
   38. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/letters.php3
   39. mailto:lwn@lwn.net
   40. http://lwn.net/2002/0221/security.php3
   41. http://www.eklektix.com/
   42. http://www.eklektix.com/
 
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