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Intel and Nokia Provide First MeeGo Release
wehe writes "The first fruit of the cooperation between Intel and Nokia is available: the first release of MeeGo. MeeGo is a merge of the former Maemo and Moblin Linux distros. What is available now is 'The MeeGo distribution infrastructure and the operating system base from the Linux kernel to the OS infrastructure up to the middleware layer. The MeeGo architecture is based on a common core across the different usage models, such as netbooks, handheld, in-vehicle, and connected TV.' The images available now for download are suitable for Intel Atom-based netbooks, ARM-based Nokia N900, and Intel Atom-based handset (Moorestown). RPM repositories as well as git source repositories are there for download, too."
I cannot imagine that switching to a Fedora base will make anything better, and I expect it will make many things worse.
MeeGo is not using Fedora base, it's a new distribution that happens to use RPM.
While it probably was not reason for the switch (they cite existing infrastructure and people intel have in place), RPM packaging is allegedly easier than Debian packaging (only need to edit one file and you are good to go).
Save your wrists today - switch to Dvorak
Biggest Slashdot 4-digit UID cluelessness award goes to: you.
Half the available netbooks are running the GMA500 / Poulsbo and there hasn't been any support by Intel for Linux drivers since 2008. How can they claim MeeGo will support netbook and MID hardware without accelerated video drivers for their own product?
My God! It's full of Voids!
Most people who care seem to share your opinion. I'm a little upset about it too, but remember that the original Maemo system wasn't "quite" Debian based -- you couldn't just apt-get whatever you wanted. There were some incompatibilities with the standard Debian repos. That's why they had the easy-debian-chroot package, and that was what I really loved about Maemo. To be honest, I don't care a whole lot whether the Application Manager is a frontend to apt or yum. As long as I have my easy-deb-chroot, I'll be happy :)
Nokia is the biggest hardware company out there that I think really "gets it". So I'm still taking a position of cautious optimism.
Ethan
There is an amazing lack of information about MeeGo.
Not surprising, really. They take the brains of anyone who finds out too much about them and put them in cases for transport to other worlds for study while the ones on earth use the bodies to blend in with humanity. If you're going looking for info, I'd invest in some big, mean dogs. They don't like dogs.
No good deed goes unpunished. - Avon, Blake's 7
You can't tell only if you don't want to tell. While it's not easily exposed this information is effectively available.
$ ls -l /var/lib/dpkg/info/packagename.list
The datestamp on this should correspond to when you installed it.
Debian is a far, far better platform for building distributions than Fedora or any RPM-based distro that I've seen. I understand that Intel had 'expertise' already in doing it the RPM way, but this is a poor excuse for doing harm to your customers.
I want my Cowboyneal
Unfortunately, ever since we committed the dreadfully insulting mistake of demoting Yuggoth from "Planet" to "Kuipier belt object", the fungi have had an embargo against us. Despite the general corruption and mismanagement of the UN Brain Canisters for Food program, they are still awfully hard to come by...
I care whether the application manager is a front end for apt-get or yum because when there are 15 pending updates I don't have to click through each one, I can just drop to a terminal, become root and apt-get upgrade.
Go root, "yum update". All done tout de suite.
With yum I don't know how to do this and don't care to learn it.
Ah, belligerent and willfully ignorant. That's a winning personality package you've got going there.
I have been burned too many times by redhat-based distros to want to have anything to do with them.
QQ. So don't use MeeGo. I administer both deb and rpm systems, and have for over five years, and they've screwed me equally in terms of package management. Debian is not the Messiah (yes, it's a very naughty packaging system), and RPM is not the Great Satan. Get over fanboi-ism and at least make credible reality-based arguments if you have to take sides.
Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
Debian package manipulation tools are more advanced/mature and are able to gracefully deal with fringe conditions/scenarios than RPM. While the packages may be easier to make, the end result appears to be:
* Debian distros degrade much more gracefully over time/use.
* Upgrades and non-standard (IE 3rd party repository) packages tend to not break things as severely.
* The package system is somewhat more atomic, allowing for function even with broken packages.
* You are able to (statefully) recover from source-based installs as well as non-packaged binary installs.
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers