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Linux Foundation President Used MacOS For Presentation at Open Source Summit (itsfoss.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the think-different dept.

Slashdot reader mschaffer writes:It appears that Jim Zemlin, President of the Linux Foundation, was using MacOS while declaring "2017 is officially the year of the Linux desktop!" at the Open Source Summit 2017. This was observed by several YouTube channels: Switched to Linux and The Lunduke Show. Finally it was reported by It's FOSS.

if, indeed, this is the year of desktop Linux, why oh why cannot people like Zemlin present a simple slide presentation -- let alone actually use a Linux distro for work.
A security developer at Google has now "spotted Jim Zemlin using Apple's macOS twice in last four years," according to the article, which complains the Foundation's admirable efforts on cloud/container technology has them neglecting Linux on the desktop.

Ironically, in March Zemlin told a cloud conference that organizations that "don't harvest the shared innovation" of open source "will fail."

12 of 284 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Because by 0100010001010011 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    There is no good software for presentations on Linux that compares to Keynote or PowerPoint.

    Jupyter Notebooks presentation mode is great.

    It is lacking in key features like "Word Art", but for a technical presentation it's pretty good.

  2. The same Reason Many of us Greybeards use MACs by williamyf · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My FOSS days started in 1995 with FreeBSD, and then in 1996 with Linux (Slackware Unleashed, I forget the Version) in the University, then I was a firm proponent on the server side... I've been hearing about the linux desktop for a loooong time...

    But, that was 22 years ago. Nowadays, in a production desktop, I have some requirements, which are quite different from the requirements on a Phone, or a Kiosk, or a retail point, or a computer for Kids/Schools:

    * I want the power of an OpenSource Unix (Darwin) under the Hood, wrapped in a slick GUI (sadly, propiertary) that makes my workflow Easier and does not change all of the sudden (BTW, Ubuntians, how's the Transition from MIR/Unity to Wayland GNOME going?).

    * Also, is nice if the Hardware in which that software resides is well built, and all the drivers play nice (granted, thanks to things like Dell's project MIR, this is easier nowadays with Linux too). I have stuff to do. Playing decetvive with drivers and libraries was entertaining in 2002 (last time I did that). Nowadays, not so much, quite the contrary, very, very frustrating!!!

    * Also, I want commonly used productivity Software available, no matter if it is FOSS or Closed. The dektop/laptop is a TOOL for Production, I want to use the most suitable tools to do my work. For instance, when I was teaching at the university, I did Everything using LibreOffice (for MAC). When I started doing technical training for Telco OpenStack Cloud (Huawei's Flavour) and Hadoop/Spark/Storm (Nokia's CEMoD 16), I pretty much had to use Office. otherwise, the powerpoints would loose all formatting, and it would take ages to fix that (and no one paid me to fix it), Macros in the Excel report sheets would be borked. Also, many iLO/IPIMI/Javascript crap would not work on Linux... You get the drift.

    * But, from time to time I have to unwind. I want the available games in steam for my machine to cont in the Thousands, not in the hundreds...

    * Speaking of telco clouds: What do you think those clouds used? If you guessed KVM, Redhat, CentOS, SuSE, Apache, Puppet, MariaDB, Postgres, yarn, etc, you are right, come collect your prize. The requirements for servers are different than from desktop, which in turn are different from cellphones, which in turn are different from kids/school computers, which in turn are different from ... you get the idea!!!

    Now, these are the reasons why he did it. Having said that, the irony does not escape me that, he being a top dog in a linux company, he should "Eat his own dog food". Even microsoft eats their own dog food.

    But, this being The Linux Foundation, and not The GNU/Linux foundation, or the FOSS foundation: how much of FOSS is "his own dog food". Certainly the linux kernel is. But neither X-free86 nor Wayland seems to be part of his dog food. Nor are KDE/GNOME/Enligthment/all other window environments out there. Is Pulseaudio/ALSA part of his dog food? What about security practices like demanding the root PW for changing the timezone or adding a printer from school? So, If the guy used a MAC with OSX instead of linux, can you blame him? perhaps a little bit, yes. If he also used PowerPoint or Keynote instead of LibreOffice, can you blame him? In my oppinion, no way!!!!

    Do not believe me, well, perhaps this guy who was using a macbook on 2012 (with linux), that does not like GNOME 3 and maybe, just maybe, knows a thing or two about linux (certainly he knows more about linux than me and you), can enlighten you all, even more than I can, on why some people preffer MACs to Linux and WinPCs. Please read his rant on the link...

    http://www.zdnet.com/article/l...

    --
    *** Suerte a todos y Feliz dia!
    1. Re:The same Reason Many of us Greybeards use MACs by Billly+Gates · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Apple should be the last platform a tech user should use. It seems the only reason people use it is because people hate Microsoft.

      --
      http://saveie6.com/
    2. Re:The same Reason Many of us Greybeards use MACs by rcase5 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      When I started my web development and hosting business 15 years ago, I decided to go with Linux for my servers and MacOS for my business-related desktop. There were a few reasons for this decision, but here are the most important:
      1. MacOS plays well with Linux. MacOS natively speaks the same protocols that Linux does, most importantly ssh.
      2. I needed the ability to run commercial software that was not readily available on Linux, such as Quickbooks.
      3. I can't STAND Windows! Windows had me cussing and swearing up a storm for a while before I started the business, and I saw absolutely no reason to subject myself to that nonsense, especially since MacOS would cover many the holes I needed covered from a commercial software standpoint (see points 1 & 2).

      That was then. Nowadays, I find myself in agreement with Rick Beato. Apple hardware is increasingly becoming more about form over function. At least Apple hardware used to be about both; it looked good, but it also functioned well with at least some degree of serviceability and compatibility down the road (for their computers, anyway). Plus, I'm really finding that I don't need to rely on commercial software as much as I used to, and everything I need I can run on Linux. So I am currently using the last set of Apple computers I will probably ever buy. The next systems I buy for the business will be just like the systems I buy for me personally; the desktop will be something I assemble myself, and the notebook will be something well-built but relatively inexpensive that I will promptly see a Linux distro installed over what will likely be a Windows 10 pre-install.

      But to say that Apple is the last platform a tech user should use is completely wrong, especially if you deal with the Linux world on a regular basis. I would say MacOS is essential if you're a tech user that needs some compatibility with commercial software but also works in the Linux world, and is FAR superior to Windows in that context.

    3. Re:The same Reason Many of us Greybeards use MACs by demonlapin · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Well, there's also WAF. My last Windows machine was fantastic for the time, and I had a great 27" monitor. But my office is in the formal part of a formal house, and she didn't want a bunch of cables. So I bought an iMac when it was starting to age, and frankly, I'm perfectly happy with it. Unix CLI, decent GUI, and it can even run Windows in a pinch. I bought a Mac for the looks. And it does look a hell of a lot better than most of the other stuff out there, even Dell's all-in-ones, at basically no price premium.

      Performance is more important than aesthetics when you're talking servers, but for a desktop? I'm not crunching numbers. I'm mostly surfing, and the Mac looks better and doesn't really cost much more (if any) than a comparably-capable Windows machine. I do miss my two-monitor setup, but that's a separate issue (the Mac can do it, I just don't; gave my old big monitor to a guy with macular degeneration so he could actually read things).

  3. Sigh. by ledow · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Eat your own dog food.

    If you can't, then you have no faith in your own products.

    To be honest, Linux Foundation was always just some-off, not-affecting-me group anyway. I never quite get what they do, or where the money comes from or goes to.

    But you can't say "Linux does/doesn't work on the desktop" until you've done it yourself.

    P.S. Yes, I've done it. Exclusively. For 8+ years. While managing Windows networks for a living. It's perfectly viable, and in many ways better.

    Nowadays, though, I virtualise everything so it barely matters what the core-OS is and can work in Linux or Windows depending on what I'm doing.

    For sure, if I was working for something called the Linux Foundation, myself and EVERYONE under me would be using Linux. Unless I literally had used it and had deemed it inadequate myself, in which case there's be bigger problems than what my people were using to get their work done.

  4. Re:Because by sombragris · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Agreed with parent. And in addition, the examples offered by grandparent are corner cases. Most desktop work is done in an office suite and/or a Web browser. In both regards, Linux is well covered.

    --
    -- Look to the Rose that blows about us--"Lo, Laughing," she says, "into the World I blow..."
  5. MacBook Pros now Dogshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    You can't service them hardly at all. I dare you to find me a comparible Dell laptop that isn't as good or better spec-wise (lack of flashy apple logo duly noted, you will be the bane of your hipster coffee shop). Your Dell will also be completely user servicible with a standard screwdriver AND have onboard Ethernet. Macs have now sadly become overpriced consumer hipster shit and you are a sucker if you buy one for any other purpose than running macOS

  6. Re:Doesn't Help Much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    If you had ever had a booth at any of these conferences you would quickly learn that the facilities are controlled and run by corporations and under Union control. Sometimes you can't even move an extension cord from one side of the booth to the other without a Union work order and usually many hours of delay. And don't even let them see you with a screw driver or wrench in your hand.

    So I would not be surprised if there was a computer furnished for the presentation and presenters HAD to use that computer. Still, the Linux Foundation President should have had a boot able USB drive with Linux on it and his presentation. _that_ last part was a joke.

  7. Re:Doesn't Help Much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Interesting

    +1. Everything I ever needed to know about unions I learned the first time I helped my employer set up a convention booth at Moscone Center.

  8. Re:Doesn't Help Much by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Because the conference is operated by a 3rd party company. They made sure everything is working and the provide pre-tested equipment and setup. You don't setup your own systems at a conference hall.

    You sure about that? I've gone to meetings with others with the sole intent of making certain that the presentation works. The first priority is that my specific laptop was used. And very often you do not want your slideshow ot be on someone elses computer period. You know - reasons.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  9. Re:Because by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    LibreOffice still has work to do.

    I wonder if they do, your example sounds familiar to me .... without ever leaving Powerpoint. Duplicating slides, copying and pasting content, even copying and pasting formatting, or moving a slide from one presentation to the other (selecting either keep source formatting or use destination) has frequently resulted in messed up formatting for me.

    I've also had that between different computers where something that looked fine on my laptop suddenly ran off the edge of the page on the presentation machine, even on the same version of MS Office.