Bluffs and Tall Stories in the Open Source ecosystem

Just wait until x.x is released, then we would be able to use so and so features.
We are working on so and so feature which will make things simpler.
Within this time frame these features would be integrated in our product.

How many times have I heard these sort of "promises", "commitments", "assurances" and then when the time comes there is not a single word mentioning these. Even the news outlets which cover open source seem to forget these "claims".

I will highlight some of these tall stories:

First I would like to mention is 'Theme' support in Calligra Office Suite. This is not a "claim" as such, may be just a random thought that a person put up. Anyways, the author, Jarosław Staniek, had put up an article which mentioned that this 'Theme' support could be added in one of the open source Office Suite. The article is at: 'Fruits of CSS2: Shared Themes' https://blogs.kde.org/2011/12/14/fruits-css2-shared-themes

This article is dated 14 December 2011. and talks about Shared Themes, which is somewhat like the theme support in MS Office 2007 onwards and even mentions that this sort of theme support is present even in Apple iWork 2005.

So, if we consider the 2005 time line, open source Office Suites do not have this feature for the last 11 years. And, there is no vision to bring this feature either. Hmm, so we are more than a decade behind the proprietary Office Suites. And, with no vision for the future we would even be two decades behind and then go into the forgettable history.

Second: On 24 January 2012, on Mark Shuttleworth's blog, there is an article which highlights that speech will be one of the most exciting way to interact with your computer. And, he says "I have a feeling this will be a lot of fun in the next two years :)" - that means in January 2014. Well, its September 2016 now and no word on the status of speech integration in Ubuntu. You can view the article at: http://www.markshuttleworth.com/archives/939
Also, there is an article on the CMU Sphinx website highlighting that their technology will be used. You can view this at: http://cmusphinx.sourceforge.net/2013/06/pocketsphinx-will-be-used-in-ubuntu-unity-8/

There will definitely be more tall stories if you dig more. But, I found these two to be the most needed features required now to make a difference. If these two features is added in the next couple of years then the open source ecosystem would definitely be at par with the proprietary systems.

But, as it is now, these are mere statements with nothing substantial going on, no updates, not even a question being asked.

Lets Speculate RHEL 7.x release dates - Part 2

Important Note: The below is just hypothetical. Please do not think anything otherwise.

So, its obviously gone past mid-August 2016, the date/period which I thought would bring in the new RHEL 7.3 release. But, in August 2016, instead of a full release we just got a 7.3 Beta and that too on the 25th.

So, how much more time till RHEL 7.3 releases. Let's look at the last six Betas to Full Releases.

Release Number	Beta Date	Full release Date	Difference in Days
RHEL 5.11	9-Jul-2014	16-Sep-2014	69
RHEL 6.6	12-Aug-2014	14-Oct-2014	63
RHEL 7.1	12-Dec-2014	6-Mar-2015	84
RHEL 6.7	5-May-2015	22-Jul-2015	78
RHEL 7.2	2-Sep-2015	19-Nov-2015	78
RHEL 6.8	15-Mar-2016	10-May-2016	56
		Average Days:	71
RHEL 7.3	25-Aug-2016	4-Nov-2016

As per the average days between the betas and full releases, the release date for RHEL 7.3 will be 4 November 2016. Also, if we consider only the RHEL 7 series, then the difference is (84 + 78) / 2 = 81 days. This will further the release date to 14 November 2016.

Even if we consider 4-Nov-2016, the difference between the 7.2 and 7.3 release will be 351 days (or 361 days considering the latter date). This is the second largest difference between two update releases in RHEL history. The largest being RHEL 4.8 to RHEL 4.9 -> 638 days. There RHEL 4.9 was the last RHEL 4 release and must be considered as a one-off rather than a norm.

Where does this do for the future releases. I think that RHEL will follow this new bigger time lines for two reasons. First being delays in getting their targeted stability/features, and Second being more long support periods. As we had seen in my last post, the total lifespan of a RHEL release is not going anywhere forward of around 8 years.

Edit (4 November 2016): RHEL 7.3 finally released yesterday, 3 November 2016. Very close to the calculated prediction stated above.

What is important in a Phone?

Recently there was a big launch event for the new iPhone, the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. The price range for the new phones is from INR 60,000 to somewhere in the range of INR 90,000. Hmm, so does a phone really justify this sort of price? I am skeptical. Do we really need all the features? Do we use all the features?

So, for INR 90,000 you do not get FM Radio, you do not get 3.5 mm jack, you do not get NFC, you do not get a card slot. I also think that you cannot attach a pen drive to a iPhone.

So, what do you get?

• Two cameras on the back. Hmm, so till now weren't we clicking photos with one camera? Is this just for image stabilization. Or, does this click some augmented reality photos, or 3D videos. I have not yet seen anything mentioned along those lines. So, the two cameras are just for clearer pictures. Cannot this be accomplished with OIS or just plain quick autofocus?
• Apple Pay. Is Apple Pay available in India? I guess not. Another wasteful feature.
• Fingerprint scanner. I think even a INR 7,000 phone has a Fingerprint scanner.
• Water resistant up to 1 meter and 30 minutes. Remember, this is called water resistant and not water proof. This means that the phone cannot be operated under water, it can just withstand being submerged in water for up to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes. Do you really want to take your phone for a swim? What I would like is just a spill resistant phone that will protect it from accidental liquid spills.

For me the most important features and specifications are (apart from the usual ones :)

• RAM >= 2 GB
• Internal Memory >= 32 GB
• 3.5 mm jack
• Fingerprint
• NFC
• FM Radio
• Optional - OIS, since todays quick autofocus and shutter speeds are adequate
• Optional - Spill resistance

So, which phone released in 2016 can give me most of these without costing me a fortune. A quick search using the gsmarena website gave me 22 results without the optionals. 7 results with optional OIS. 1 result for IP5x (Spill resistance) without OIS. 1 result for IP6x (Water resistance) and OIS.

The 22 results are:

• LG V20
• Lenovo Vibe K4 Note
• Sony Xperia X
• Sony Xperia X Compact
• LG G5
• Samsung Galaxy C7
• Samsung Galaxy C5
• Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro (2016)
• Motorola Moto Z Play
• Lenevo P2
• HTC One A9s
• Lenevo Vibe P1 Turbo
• ZTE nubia Z11
• LG Stylus 2 Plus
• Samsung Galaxy S7 active
• vivo Xplay5 Elite
• LG G5 SE
• vivo Xplay5
• LG X mach
• LeEco Le Max
• Vodafone Smart Platinum 7
• BQ Aquaris X5 Plus

The 7 results with OIS are:

• LG V20
• LG G5
• Samsung Galaxy A9 Pro (2016)
• ZTE nubia Z11
• Samsung Galaxy S7 active
• LG G5 SE
• LeEco Le Max

The result for IP5x (Spill resistance) without OIS is Motorola Moto Z Play.

The result for IP6x (Water resistance) and OIS is Samsung Galaxy S7 active.

Now, I am more tilted towards the Motorola Moto Z Play. It ticks off most of what I think is required in a smart phone. The phone compensates for the lack of OIS by having Phase Detection and Laser Autofocus.

The price for this phone listed on various sources is within INR 30,000. So for half of iPhone price you get a very similar phone.

For the adventurous the Samsumg Galaxy S7 active is better. It is IP68 certified (dust proof and water resistant over 1.5 meter and 30 minutes), and it is MIL-STD-810G certified (salt, dust, humidity, rain, vibration, solar radiation, transport and thermal shock resistant) The price for this phone is still less than iPhone, it is around INR 55,000.

For the budget conscience, the Lenovo Vibe K4 Note is the best option at the price of around INR 11,000.