8 ms·

Most Important Open Source Projects of 2011

114 points by mmrobins 15y ago

zalew 15y ago
2012 is definitely the year of linux desktop
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - adolfojp 15y ago
    He was being sarcastic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Linux#Year_of_Desktop_Linux http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Linux#Year_of_Desktop_L...
  - hsmyers 15y ago
    While the current version of Ubuntu is trashed by many, its usability is no longer an issue---as near as I can tell the argument is what it looks like with a few quibbles over changes to some standard utilities---the app installer used to allow you to check off the ones you wanted and then install all at once. No longer (or if it does, it is cleverly hidden!) I'd suggest if a user has problems with this particular flavor of Linux, then their chances of success with Win7 or Win8 seem unlikely.
    - tikhonj 15y ago
      Definitely. As I mentioned, I installed Ubuntu on my roommates laptop. He is completely inexperienced in computers, and not only has he had no problems with Ubuntu, but he has also become more productive than when he was on Windows 7.
      - sukuriant 15y ago
        Could this be due to the lack of games? :P (long time linux user, also Microsoft employee. I take credit for the joke, though :P) [edit: I know there are games for linux. In fact, I applaud companies that go out of their way to make linux versions of their games. e.g. Unreal Tournament 2k4]
        tikhonj 15y ago
        Hah, you do have a point though--even if there are great games for Linux, most of the popular ones (at least for my demographic ;) are Windows-only, and gaming is as much about playing with friends as it is about the quality of the games. However, my roommate, like a bunch of my other friends, is entirely an XBox person, so the games aren't the issue.
        rbanffy 15y ago
        While you have a point - many games are Windows only - I think it has more to do with focusing on the work rather than on the tool. Windows is intrusive. Ubuntu, much like OSX allow me to just let it flow. On my case, Ubuntu has an edge because it resembles my servers more closely.
  - tikhonj 15y ago
    I think the main reason, by far, that more people don't use Linux on their personal computer is that you can't easily buy a computer with Linux pre-installed. In my experience, something like 95% of all Linux problems are at install time--hardware support, drivers, necessary pacakges...etc. Once somebody has gone through the difficult bits at the very beginning, Linux systems tend to be very stable--after the first week or so, I've had less issues with my Linux computers than I have with Mac OS or Windows. I set Ubuntu up for my roommate, who is rather inexperienced in computers, and he has had no issues. In fact, some things worked even better than on Windows/Mac--he was able to use my printer without installing any drivers; my roommate last year had to spend several hours and get somebody else to help him to print from his Mac. Apart from the difficulty of installing, most people don't even realize that they can install a different operating system--they believe that whatever they have is a magical part of their computer. Or something. You'd think Mac people would be better--they are, after all, using the less popular platform--but they are, if anything, even worse in this regard. Thus, I think the immediate and most important prerequisite to widespread Linux use is not Linux's quality (which is already superb) but its presence in retail outlets. However, there are two big obstacles to this: Mirosoft and Apple. Microsoft has had a history of anti-competitive behavior in regards to Linux, and goes out of its way to strong arm OEMs into only supplying Windows; both companies ruthlessly market that Linux is not an option--the false Mac vs PC dichotomy is a perfect example. However, even if Linux isn't particularly popular, it already delivers the most compelling desktop and laptop environment to those who bother installing it; in that sense, it is already the year of the Linux desktop--I can be more productive on Linux than my friends on Windows and Mac OS; if less people use it, well, it's just less competition ;)
    - baby 15y ago
      It's not only that, it's the lack of drivers on Linux also. I just bought an asus x53s (pretty famous laptop) and it ubuntu runs really badly on it.
      - tikhonj 15y ago
        That's one of the problems you face only because you're installing Linux yourself. If you were a company that was going to sell a laptop with Linux already, you would not sell it with driver problems; you would either be sure to choose hardware that supported Linux or you would write your own driver. Thus, if Linux laptops were easily available, people would not have this sort of problem.
- krobertson 15y ago
  I think I've been hearing people say that for at least the past 10 years.
  - tlrobinson 15y ago
    I think that was the joke.
    - deleted 15y ago
      [deleted]
    - zalew 15y ago
      obviously :) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm7oor_you-should-install-linux_lifestyle http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm7oor_you-should-install-l...
- gosub 15y ago
  Well, I think that most of android devices spend their time sitting on top of a desk.
ChuckMcM 15y ago
Kind of a long way to go to slam Android. :-) (not being snarky per se, but would have preferred the author separate the last bit into a different blog post 'Why Android didn't make the top 10 list' I pretty much agree with most of what is on this list. I might add Asterisk or Gcc. Not sure what I would delete though.
- iamandrus 15y ago
  I do agree with what he said, Android isn't as open as it seems. Google didn't release the Honeycomb code because it "wasn't ready", yet allowed manufacturers to ship tablets with a version of it on there. And he also made a point when he said that Android is more "source open". Nobody can really influence the code unless they work for the company or a company close to Google. And Gcc isn't really a "new" software so it's not for this list, but it's definitely an important one.
  - jrockway 15y ago
    This is not true. I know people that have contributed code to Android that don't work for Google (etc.) and that have their code on released devices now. Sure, someone may have already fixed the bug by the time you get to see the source code, but if the bug is obscure enough, your code is as good as anyone else's. (Also, features are probably always welcome.)
    - zobzu 15y ago
      so a couple of guys fixed a couple of bugs. even if it were a thousand, bug fixes are not "influence" the code at all. Cyanogen for example is much more open.
      - fpgeek 15y ago
        I'd argue that that is the big omission. Wherever you come down on Android itself, Cyanogenmod clearly meets the author's criteria for openness, is a technical standout in a new area and it has had a very big 2011.
baby 15y ago
What about chromium?
- jrockway 15y ago
  Uh oh, there may be more than 10 worthwhile open source projects. Oh noes!
program 15y ago
"So to judge importance, I looked at projects that are influential, gaining in popularity, and/or technical standouts in new areas" So put WebKit on the list. If the growth continues, total usage of WebKit based browsers will surpass 50% by the end of 2012.
ghotli 15y ago
Puppet instead of chef? Color me surprised.
chaostheory 15y ago
I'm surprised not to see mongodb on the list.
bronxbomber92 15y ago
What is this? LLVM doesn't get a shout out?
- huhtenberg 15y ago
  > What is this? Yet another random "Top 10" list.
  - bronxbomber92 15y ago
    Sure enough.
nl 15y ago
OpenStack OpenStack might be really important conceptually, and it might have an impressive number of backers, but they really, really need to get something usable in production environments out, and soon. At the moment I think it is hard to justify it being the 5th most important..
- pandemicsyn 15y ago
  Theres already more than few OpenStack Swift deployments in production (at Rackspace, HP, etc).
tszming 15y ago
I doubt how many people really use Cassandra. I believe MongoDB or Redis would be far more popular..
- Axsuul 15y ago
  Definitely give my vote to Redis
zobzu 15y ago
What! my favorite open source projet is not in there it sucks! What! "Most important" does actually means "Most important, in the eyes of the writer". Oh dear.
steveeq1 15y ago
What, no bitcoin?
thurn 15y ago
Please change the title of this to "Important Open Source Projects of 2011" per http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. Linkbait titles suck.
docgnome 15y ago
Oye. Let's not start the "X Most Y of 2011" stuff. Every year we are bombarded by these badly written articles. Can we just skip this nonsense this year?
antirez 15y ago
Nothing had an impact in the course of 2011 like Android... now a cheap 100$ phones (often provided to customers for free by phone companies) can do 99% of what an iPhone 4s can do, and this is changing the world.
mickeyben 15y ago
I'd add Redis and chef to the list.
Flow 15y ago
I feel that LLVM should be on that list.

114 points by mmrobins 15y ago

zalew 15y ago

2012 is definitely the year of linux desktop

deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
- deleted 15y ago
  [deleted]
- adolfojp 15y ago
  He was being sarcastic. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Linux#Year_of_Desktop_Linux http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Linux#Year_of_Desktop_L...
- hsmyers 15y ago
  While the current version of Ubuntu is trashed by many, its usability is no longer an issue---as near as I can tell the argument is what it looks like with a few quibbles over changes to some standard utilities---the app installer used to allow you to check off the ones you wanted and then install all at once. No longer (or if it does, it is cleverly hidden!) I'd suggest if a user has problems with this particular flavor of Linux, then their chances of success with Win7 or Win8 seem unlikely.
  - tikhonj 15y ago
    Definitely. As I mentioned, I installed Ubuntu on my roommates laptop. He is completely inexperienced in computers, and not only has he had no problems with Ubuntu, but he has also become more productive than when he was on Windows 7.
    - sukuriant 15y ago
      Could this be due to the lack of games? :P (long time linux user, also Microsoft employee. I take credit for the joke, though :P) [edit: I know there are games for linux. In fact, I applaud companies that go out of their way to make linux versions of their games. e.g. Unreal Tournament 2k4]
      - tikhonj 15y ago
        Hah, you do have a point though--even if there are great games for Linux, most of the popular ones (at least for my demographic ;) are Windows-only, and gaming is as much about playing with friends as it is about the quality of the games. However, my roommate, like a bunch of my other friends, is entirely an XBox person, so the games aren't the issue.
      - rbanffy 15y ago
        While you have a point - many games are Windows only - I think it has more to do with focusing on the work rather than on the tool. Windows is intrusive. Ubuntu, much like OSX allow me to just let it flow. On my case, Ubuntu has an edge because it resembles my servers more closely.
- tikhonj 15y ago
  I think the main reason, by far, that more people don't use Linux on their personal computer is that you can't easily buy a computer with Linux pre-installed. In my experience, something like 95% of all Linux problems are at install time--hardware support, drivers, necessary pacakges...etc. Once somebody has gone through the difficult bits at the very beginning, Linux systems tend to be very stable--after the first week or so, I've had less issues with my Linux computers than I have with Mac OS or Windows. I set Ubuntu up for my roommate, who is rather inexperienced in computers, and he has had no issues. In fact, some things worked even better than on Windows/Mac--he was able to use my printer without installing any drivers; my roommate last year had to spend several hours and get somebody else to help him to print from his Mac. Apart from the difficulty of installing, most people don't even realize that they can install a different operating system--they believe that whatever they have is a magical part of their computer. Or something. You'd think Mac people would be better--they are, after all, using the less popular platform--but they are, if anything, even worse in this regard. Thus, I think the immediate and most important prerequisite to widespread Linux use is not Linux's quality (which is already superb) but its presence in retail outlets. However, there are two big obstacles to this: Mirosoft and Apple. Microsoft has had a history of anti-competitive behavior in regards to Linux, and goes out of its way to strong arm OEMs into only supplying Windows; both companies ruthlessly market that Linux is not an option--the false Mac vs PC dichotomy is a perfect example. However, even if Linux isn't particularly popular, it already delivers the most compelling desktop and laptop environment to those who bother installing it; in that sense, it is already the year of the Linux desktop--I can be more productive on Linux than my friends on Windows and Mac OS; if less people use it, well, it's just less competition ;)
  - baby 15y ago
    It's not only that, it's the lack of drivers on Linux also. I just bought an asus x53s (pretty famous laptop) and it ubuntu runs really badly on it.
    - tikhonj 15y ago
      That's one of the problems you face only because you're installing Linux yourself. If you were a company that was going to sell a laptop with Linux already, you would not sell it with driver problems; you would either be sure to choose hardware that supported Linux or you would write your own driver. Thus, if Linux laptops were easily available, people would not have this sort of problem.
krobertson 15y ago
I think I've been hearing people say that for at least the past 10 years.
- tlrobinson 15y ago
  I think that was the joke.
  - deleted 15y ago
    [deleted]
  - zalew 15y ago
    obviously :) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm7oor_you-should-install-linux_lifestyle http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xm7oor_you-should-install-l...
gosub 15y ago
Well, I think that most of android devices spend their time sitting on top of a desk.

ChuckMcM 15y ago

Kind of a long way to go to slam Android. :-) (not being snarky per se, but would have preferred the author separate the last bit into a different blog post 'Why Android didn't make the top 10 list' I pretty much agree with most of what is on this list. I might add Asterisk or Gcc. Not sure what I would delete though.

iamandrus 15y ago
I do agree with what he said, Android isn't as open as it seems. Google didn't release the Honeycomb code because it "wasn't ready", yet allowed manufacturers to ship tablets with a version of it on there. And he also made a point when he said that Android is more "source open". Nobody can really influence the code unless they work for the company or a company close to Google. And Gcc isn't really a "new" software so it's not for this list, but it's definitely an important one.
- jrockway 15y ago
  This is not true. I know people that have contributed code to Android that don't work for Google (etc.) and that have their code on released devices now. Sure, someone may have already fixed the bug by the time you get to see the source code, but if the bug is obscure enough, your code is as good as anyone else's. (Also, features are probably always welcome.)
  - zobzu 15y ago
    so a couple of guys fixed a couple of bugs. even if it were a thousand, bug fixes are not "influence" the code at all. Cyanogen for example is much more open.
    - fpgeek 15y ago
      I'd argue that that is the big omission. Wherever you come down on Android itself, Cyanogenmod clearly meets the author's criteria for openness, is a technical standout in a new area and it has had a very big 2011.

baby 15y ago

What about chromium?

jrockway 15y ago
Uh oh, there may be more than 10 worthwhile open source projects. Oh noes!

program 15y ago

"So to judge importance, I looked at projects that are influential, gaining in popularity, and/or technical standouts in new areas" So put WebKit on the list. If the growth continues, total usage of WebKit based browsers will surpass 50% by the end of 2012.

ghotli 15y ago

Puppet instead of chef? Color me surprised.

chaostheory 15y ago

I'm surprised not to see mongodb on the list.

bronxbomber92 15y ago

What is this? LLVM doesn't get a shout out?

huhtenberg 15y ago
> What is this? Yet another random "Top 10" list.
- bronxbomber92 15y ago
  Sure enough.

nl 15y ago

OpenStack OpenStack might be really important conceptually, and it might have an impressive number of backers, but they really, really need to get something usable in production environments out, and soon. At the moment I think it is hard to justify it being the 5th most important..

pandemicsyn 15y ago
Theres already more than few OpenStack Swift deployments in production (at Rackspace, HP, etc).

tszming 15y ago

I doubt how many people really use Cassandra. I believe MongoDB or Redis would be far more popular..

Axsuul 15y ago
Definitely give my vote to Redis

zobzu 15y ago

What! my favorite open source projet is not in there it sucks! What! "Most important" does actually means "Most important, in the eyes of the writer". Oh dear.

steveeq1 15y ago

What, no bitcoin?

thurn 15y ago

Please change the title of this to "Important Open Source Projects of 2011" per http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html. Linkbait titles suck.

docgnome 15y ago

Oye. Let's not start the "X Most Y of 2011" stuff. Every year we are bombarded by these badly written articles. Can we just skip this nonsense this year?

antirez 15y ago

Nothing had an impact in the course of 2011 like Android... now a cheap 100$ phones (often provided to customers for free by phone companies) can do 99% of what an iPhone 4s can do, and this is changing the world.

mickeyben 15y ago

I'd add Redis and chef to the list.

Flow 15y ago

I feel that LLVM should be on that list.