8 of the worst open source innovations of the decade : Rlogger

Open supply improvements aren’t all successes–a few failures have occurred. Let’s check out a few of them.

Through the years, Linux and open supply have been a grasp class on sluggish burn success. From out of nothing, Linux has grow to be the champion of the cloud, IoT, and containers. And though it hasn’t reached the “world domination” standing it swore within the early 2000s, Linux desktop continues to be very a lot alive and constructing momentum.

However that does not imply it has been all success; in actual fact, there have been a number of stumbles alongside the best way. Let’s check out a number of the worst open supply failures of the last decade.

SEE: How to decide on between Home windows, macOS, and Linux (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

The Steam Machine

The Steam Machine was going to show gaming on Linux may succeed. They already had Steam working on Linux simply high quality, however Steam needed extra. To make that “extra” occur, they developed the Steam Machine, a Linux-based gaming console with the aim of transitioning PC avid gamers to the console. It failed. Even worse, it failed in such a manner that nobody is aware of why it failed. What ought to have been a positive factor pale into reminiscence.

Though there was hypothesis as to why the Steam Machine failed (delays, cancellations, and excessive price of entry), no official phrase was ever heard. The one indication of its failure is the elimination of Steam Machine mentions on the official website and statements like “product not obtainable” on any retailer that when promised to promote the {hardware}. It is a good factor Steam continues to be installable on Linux; in any other case, gaming on Linux would have been an entire and utter failure.

SEE: Extra Decade in Overview protection (TechRepublic on Flipboard)

Ubuntu Unity

This one is hard for me. Why? As a result of I used to be truly an enormous fan of Unity. Canonical’s in-house desktop setting was secure, dependable, and one of the crucial environment friendly in the marketplace. The HUD alone made Unity price utilizing. However alas, Canonical made a grave mistake when it set its sights on Ubuntu Contact and Mir.

The purpose of these two being the brand new defaults for the Ubuntu desktop was the dying knell for Unity, as a result of Mir merely wasn’t prepared. To make issues worse, the delay attributable to Mir/Contact resulted in an incredible lack of innovation on the Ubuntu desktop entrance. Finally, Canonical scrapped all of it and opted emigrate to the GNOME desktop as its default.

Ubuntu Telephone

Talking of Ubuntu Contact, the Ubuntu Telephone was a spectacular failure. I owned one of many first Ubuntu Telephones launched and, from day one, I discovered it virtually not possible to make use of. The Ubuntu Contact interface was past horrible. The one that got here up with the “scopes” concept ought to have been faraway from the challenge.

Canonical had the right interface with Unity; if the corporate transferred Unity to the cellular interface, it may have had successful on its arms. As a substitute, Canonical opted to go along with an interface that no cellular person would discover even remotely viable. On high of all that, there have been subsequent to no functions on launch, and telephone name high quality was absurdly dangerous.

The Ubuntu Telephone would have been higher sticking with its Ubuntu Edge idea phone–the one which promised to lastly ship on convergence.

SEE: 2010s–The Decade in Overview (ZDNet Particular Function)

Ubuntu Edge

Sure, it is a second Ubuntu Telephone on the listing, so it feels a bit like piling on. Reality be informed, this telephone had critical promise. Not solely was Ubuntu Edge the primary system to vow true convergence, it was elegant and powerful–on paper.

Earlier than it may make it to manufacturing, Ubuntu Edge needed to be funded. Via crowdfunding, Canonical tried to lift $32 million. Surprisingly sufficient, the corporate wound up breaking data by elevating over $12 million, making it the most important ever mounted crowdfunded marketing campaign.

Sadly, this telephone that sounded so extremely superb on paper did not be delivered, making it one of many extra heartbreaking vaporware tales within the historical past of Linux. Ubuntu Edge may have been the telephone to make the Linux cellular a actuality. That was 2013. It is six years later, and we’re solely now seeing corporations carry to life Linux telephones, and people are questionable at finest. It was a tragic, unhappy day after we came upon Ubuntu Edge wasn’t to be.

Apartheid Linux

I am not going to level to any hyperlinks for this despicable Linux distribution; as a substitute, I will simply illustrate one of many adverse results of anybody being able to “roll your personal” distribution. Not like Hannah Montana Linux’s purpose of bringing new, youthful customers into the Linux and open supply fold, Apartheid Linux targeted its consideration on hatred, bigotry, and “white energy.” At no time within the historical past of open supply was Linux ever used for such a disgusting objective.

This distribution is so horrible, I even hesitated so as to add it to the listing out of worry that somebody may Google it and be accosted with the language and pictures of hate. Spare your self from the inevitable rise in blood strain and do not hassle.

SEE: Decade in Overview 2010 – 2019 (CNET)

Diaspora

Diaspora is a distributed social community consisting of a gaggle of independently owned nodes working collectively to kind a community. As a result of it’s distributed, the community shouldn’t be owned by anybody. On paper, it is a nice concept and having it licensed below the GNU-AGPL-3.Zero license makes it even higher.

Work started on Diaspora in 2010, and the primary Diaspora Pod was launched that very same yr. Sadly, the founding father of Diaspora dedicated suicide in 2011; studies of his dying had been linked to pressures associated to Diaspora. In October 2012, Diaspora 0.0.1.Zero was launched. As of 2019, model 1.Zero is nowhere in sight. Alas, the promise of the Diaspora distributed social community continues to be a pipe dream.

SEE: Images: 10 apps to assist handle work stress and psychological well being (TechRepublic)

RethinkDB

RethinkDB was to be the open supply database for pushing real-time updates for question outcomes to functions. RethinkDB used the ReQL question language, which was an embedded, domain-specific language for Ruby, Python, Java, and JavaScript. Probably the most promising characteristic of RethinkDB was first-class assist for real-time change feeds.

In keeping with these behind RethinkDB, its failure was a combination of “inexplicable perversity of human nature and intelligent machinations of MongoDB’s advertising and marketing individuals,” in addition to a failure to construct an skilled go-to-market crew, lack of numeric sort assist past 64-bit float, and horrible advertising and marketing. In the long run, RethinkDB was in a short time surpassed by the likes of MongoDB.

SEE: The open supply decade, fueled by cloud and GitHub (TechRepublic)

Samsung DeX for Linux

It ought to have stunned nobody that Samsung dropped the ball on DeX for Linux. This was a kind of bits of expertise that had so many Linux followers foaming on the mouth to have of their arms. In spite of everything, who would not need the flexibility to plug in an Android telephone and have it convert to a full-blown Linux desktop? I do know I’d.

However in 2019, Samsung determined to scrap DeX for Linux. My guess is that this was yet one more occasion of that nice legendary beast “convergence” flailing and failing. Such promise resulting in such disappointment. So lengthy, DeX, you had been an unbelievable ray of hope whilst you lasted.

SEE: 10 greatest Android flops of the last decade (TechRepublic)

Honorable point out: Hannah Montana Linux

Although it does not match the 2010-2019 timeframe for TechRepublic’s Decade in Overview sequence, Hannah Montana Linux deserves a point out.

Earlier than I level the finger of mockery at this distribution, I need to at the least give the developer props for his intention. The purpose of Hannah Montana Linux (HML) was to enchantment to youthful customers. That is nice, and on the time, Hannah Montana was a strong launching level.

What was Hannah Montana Linux? A purple and pink themed Linux distribution, with KDE as a desktop and the Disney channel character entrance and heart. Though attracting youthful customers to Linux is an honorable purpose, HML would have been higher served by at the least including some functions that will enchantment to customers, as a substitute of doing nothing greater than theming KDE.