[news.eclipse.newcomer] Re: Ganymede fails after update

[Nick Boldt <codeslave@xxxxxxxxxx>]

> debianising eclipse is a pretty big task

Yes, which is perhaps why it doesn't happen the same week as the 
coordinated releases. That and the fact that the ubuntu release cycle 
(to pick on one distro) is april/october and the Eclipse release cycle 
is june/september/february probably contributes to the disconnect.

> > [1] http://wiki.eclipse.org/index.php/Linux_Distributions_Project
> I think that project misses the point to a large extent
> Java hasn't been popular in the open source world - because it hasn't 
> been open source
> Although Eclipse has always been open source it has depended on Suns
> Java which until recently couldn't be included in Linux distros.

Just because it can't be on the .iso doesn't mean that should prevent 
usage. Downloading and installing a closed-source JVM is pretty trivial, 
even for the noobiest of linux users (it's easier than installing, say, 
the Flash plugin for Firefox) and while I appreciate and subscribe to 
the "everything should be open" mantra, I still use Skype and Sun/IBM 
JVMs on a daily basis. I also use a lot of software that while open, its 
source will never be read by me. (eg., OpenOffice, Pidgin, Firefox...)

> Now Java has been open sourced - Eclipse is available in Linux distros - 
> but it will take time to build the user base in Linux - and without that 
> user base packaging will be slower.

Well, there's also the perception that "Eclipse is for Java" despite the 
ongoing work to push C/C++, PHP, Javascript, Ruby, Python, Perl...

> It's also apparent that Eclipse development often targets Windows - 
> because that's where most of its developers are.

Yes, and that's changing over time, but it's a gradual transition -- 
like Internet Explorer users moving to Firefox. There's a lot of 
resistance to the linux-as-desktop idea from the mainstream, but with 
Vista being touted as the next Windows Me, Linux & Mac adoption are 
growing... which is also why Eclipse on Mac is finally getting more 
attention.

On the flip side, I use Linux every day, so I get the occasional 
complaint that my stuff (build systems using bash scripts) won't run on 
Windows. :)

--
Nick Boldt :: Release Engineer, IBM Toronto Lab
Eclipse Modeling :: http://www.eclipse.org/modeling
http://wiki.eclipse.org/index.php/User:Nickb