First Impressions of Sabayon Linux

chix4mat writes "Techgage takes a first look at the upcoming Gentoo-based distro 'Sabayon.' It's a feature-filled Live DVD that allows you to install within minutes. Users are treated to a Vista-esque KDE theme, with transparent windows The greatest feature of the distro is the hardware and software support. DVD movies work from the start in addition to audio, bluetooth, WiFi and even XGL."

Comments

Program Naming

[ronkronk]

Why do so many linux programmers insist on such crazy naming conventions. Sabayon? Changing a perfectly servicable and pragmagic GNOME Meeting to "Ekiga"?

I use linux both at home and at work, so I'm not some anti-linux zealot or something- I think it's a legitimate question to raise. On my mac laptop, I have a handy app for browsing mDNS networks called Rendezvous Browser (since mDNS was once called Rendezvous).
The name is simple and describes perfectly what the program does. On the other hand, 90% of the linux applications available have names that look like they were chosen by picking random letters and squishing them together.
I'm sure that the programmers think they've very clever by choosing a name that means something in some obscure language- or they just thing the name sounds cool- but that simple lack of meaningful names is detrimental. If I start up a GNOME session and want to use network meeting functionality, how is there any possible way that I could guess that "Ekiga" is the application I'm looking for?

Re:Program Naming

[6OOOOO]

I generally agree with you. On the other hand, though, consider the importance of brand recognition, and distinction from the competition. Imagine if Firefox had been named "Web Browser," or "Web Site Viewer." It might have worked out, but I'm guessing it would have been tough.

There is definitely something to be said for a unique, even quirky identifier--the software becomes a particular thing to be desired and discussed, instead of a tool to be taken for granted.

Re:Program Naming

[ToxikFetus]

Product Naming Conventions by Platform

Apple: Prepend 'i' to the product name: iMac, iPod, iBall, etc.
Windows: Add "Visual," "Explorer," or "Tycoon" to the product name.
Linux: Prepend 'g', 'k', or 'x' to the product name, depending on whether the product is GNOME-centric, KDE-centric, or non-denominational. Alternately, bang head on keyboard.

Re:Program Naming

[digidave]

Web Site Viewer is too generic, but Webfox or Fireweb would have been good. Thundermail definitely sounds like a mail client. It's quite easy to take many names from OSS and change them slightly to have broader appeal.

Konqueror can be Web Konqueror. GIMP can be Gnu Photo. Sunbird can be Sun Calendar.

MySQL, RadRails and OpenOffice are great names.

Re:Program Naming

[Deliveranc3]

To the I want it to just work folks.

These people are devoting their time to making this software, they aren't getting paid.

I'm sure many of you think they're just crazy hippies but the fact is they have motivations, often political/spiritual for why they want people to have access to this software.

This will affect how the software is developed, it's unavoidable, and you would do well to spend a little time actually investigating the mindset of the FOSS community.

These people are giving you certain abilities you didn't have before, that's why you use their software. And they're hoping you won't use those abilities to say steal someone's identity or take away people's jobs... perhaps they are being naive.

Distro's like Ubuntu have interesting names because they hope you'll check wikipedia before complaining and actually take a look at the philosophy underlying the software they are giving you for free.

Re:Program Naming

[greginnj]

You said it, bro!

Why, on my machine, when I want to create a presentation, I have to use something called 'PowerPoint'. For weeks I didn't touch it because I thought it was some sort of weird ACPI tool, and I was shutting down and rebooting enough that I figured I didn't need it.

It turns out I also have an email app called "Outlook" which I thought was a weather forecaster. It hasn't worked well; maybe I should switch -- I see there's a faster version called 'Outlook Express'.

The file system app is called 'Explorer' which is confusingly named the same thing as the web browser.

There's also this thing called "Access" which, as near as I can guess, is a kind of server that's supposed to give everybody on the internet 'access' to my data.

Oh, and I have to click on a button labeled 'Start' to shut down ...

Re:Program Naming

[misleb]

I'm sure that the programmers think they've very clever by choosing a name that means something in some obscure language- or they just thing the name sounds cool-

Or they are just being whimsical can don't really care if the the name is business friendly. Most are just programming for fun. I wholeheartedly support the practice of "strange" naming. If Linux, or more generally, FOSS ever loses its whimsical and 'fun' nature, it'll be dead. Programmers get enough marketting pressure and other business related distractions at work. They don't need to come home to their hobby project and get the same pressure to sell themselves to users.

but that simple lack of meaningful names is detrimental.

Detrimental to whom, exactly? If I am developing something for fum, what do I care if a few people who merely object to naming don't use my software?

If I start up a GNOME session and want to use network meeting functionality, how is there any possible way that I could guess that "Ekiga" is the application I'm looking for?

The same way you know that your friend "Joe" is the guy with the dark hair, funny nose, and a good sense of humor. Have you ever asked your friend Joe to change his name to something a little more descriptive?

-matthew

We're sorry, that name is taken.

[pridkett]

Rule number 1 about naming a project -- do a google search. If something else that might be pretty related comes up pretty easily, you've picked a crappy name. In this case Sabayon is already used as the name for GNOME profile editor. It seems like this has been around much longer too.

Rule number 2 about naming a project -- when naming a project, try to get a domain name that reflects the project. I'm confused about how I would know from a URL like http://www.lxnaydesign.net/ that it would be about Sabayon linux.

Remember to play nice boys and girls. And for the Sabayon Linux folks, don't worry, Mozilla made the same mistake a few years ago. Clear up the confusion and move on -- it looks like you've got a pretty slick little distro going.