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Upheavals In UnitedLinux

An anonymous reader writes "I found this story on UnixReview.com - vnunet has some commentary about UnitedLinux and it sounds like it's struggling." I dunno - I plan on still giving them the benefit of the doubt, and see what comes out. Heck, I might even try installing a machine with the "united distro" - but it's still an interesting pickle some of the primary members are in.

6 of 152 comments (clear)

  1. Consolidation great for business, but this..? by Dock · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I've never tried any of the distros made by the people behind UnitedLinux, but I liked the idea that even if I found myself straying from my favorite, there were always quite a few other *quality* places to go to get something just a little different. Just because Redhat is growing by leaps and bounds doesn't mean everyone in the game has to come together just to compete. We're talking about things that usually take a while in an industry to happen, when it does a few things occur. Competition decreases, and consumer satisfaction bottoms out with it. Do we really need that kind of thing already?

    I know, I'm being a little dramatic, there are tons and tons of distros rolling around but when a few big ones jump into bed, they become something that places like Redhat do have to deal with..I guess the point is why now? Redhat in the grand scheme of things is still pretty small, there's plenty of time to ramp up competition and let everyone use a field of quality products rather than a few.

    Maybe of they re-visit this idea in a few years, it'll be more viable. Until them, they should all just chill and keep growing up a bit.

    --
    http://about.me/paultenny
  2. Why people try to re-invent the wheel? by unixmaster · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...while we already have standarts...

    See :
    http://www.linuxbase.org/

    and If you think a Linux uses RFCs ( www.faqs.org/rfc ) as base and still a Linux system is POSIX ( http://www.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC22/WG15 ) standarts compliant.

    So why try to create standarts again?

    --
    Never learn by your mistakes, if you do you may never dare to try again
  3. Re:Hope it works... by YrWrstNtmr · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who's to say that they don't apply this same pressure to software makers? Just a wild guess on my part, really.

    No, the problem is threefold (at least)
    1) Internal apps. Need to be rewritten for the new OS. And believe me, a LOT of the company is run from 'Mary in accountings' custom spreadsheet.
    2) User and help desk training. Can't drop a week out of production to roll out the new software, and then train the users on its use. And no, it is NOT seamless for the users.
    3) Client compatibility. You MUST be able to trade documents with *all* of your clients. If Joe Blow from General Motors sends you a complex xls, you'd better be able to read it.

  4. commercial != proprietary by J.+Random+Software · · Score: 4, Insightful
    The whole point [of open source] is that you do not have commercial people developing the code.

    Bull! The point is that nobody has a monopoly on developing the code. Work for hire is welcome, and we're even starting to see it happen more often (and I can't wait for task markets to hit the big time).

  5. Re:Hope it works... by Erik+Hensema · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You are absolutely right. The situation is improving, but Linux isn't there yet.

    For example, I can't understand why a user cannot change the resolution of his screen. It's trivial to implement. Let root build the system XF86Config, and let users control only the "Screen" section in their .xf86config. Build a nice GUI tool around it, and you're ready.

    The only thing you'll have to work out is changing resolution when starting from XDM/KDM/GDM.

    --

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  6. Re:Hope it works... by tal197 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    For example, I can't understand why a user cannot change the resolution of his screen. It's trivial to implement. Let root build the system XF86Config, and let users control only the "Screen" section in their .xf86config. Build a nice GUI tool around it, and you're ready.

    I think the command you're looking for is 'xrandr' (rotate and resize).

    $ xrandr --help
    usage: xrandr [options]
    where options are:
    -display <display> or -d <display>
    -help
    -o <normal,inverted,left,right,0,1,2,3>
    or --orientation <normal,inverted,left,right,0,1,2,3>
    -q or --query
    -s <size> or --size <size>
    -v or --verbose
    or --screen <screen>