Sub iudice - The era of packaging over in the Linux App Ecosystem
333 | Fri 01 Aug 5:30 p.m.–6:15 p.m.
Presented by
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Sri Ramkrishna
https://dev.to/sramkrishna
Sriram Ramkrishna is a veteran of over 25 years in free and open source software, known for his role as the "human interface" to open source communities. From his early involvement with the GNOME Project, amongst many other communities, to his current work in developer relations at Intel, Sri has built bridges between developers, community, and organizations.
Sri leads initiatives to grow inclusive, sustainable developer ecosystems—most recently around Intel's oneAPI project, building rapport between communities, developers, and industry partners. When Sri sees a need, he's unafraid to launch initiatives like Linux App Summit that is building an application ecosystem on the Linux platform.
Currently, Sri has been involved in a lot of AI related projects.
Sri Ramkrishna
https://dev.to/sramkrishna
Abstract
For decades, Linux desktop distributions have shouldered
the responsibility of packaging, maintaining, and distributing
applications. They played a vital role in integrating diverse software
into cohesive, user-friendly experiences—turning the raw materials of
free software into polished systems that people could actually use.
But today, this model is limiting our ability to grow a vibrant
application ecosystem. Developers are distanced from their users, lack
visibility into where their software runs, and have few paths toward
building community or receiving financial support. The "distribution
model" encourages "software as hobby".
It’s time for a cultural shift—from a distribution-centric model to
an application-centric ecosystem, where developers take ownership of
their software lifecycle and deliver directly to users via sandboxed,
cross-distro technology like Flatpak. With the enablement of financial
transactions, we will need to realize how this will reshape relationships
between desktop projects, users, organizations, and developers. We'll
also focus the downsides of this model and what to anticipate.
Join us on seeing a different facet of Free and Open Source software
that distinguishes itself differently from "software as infrastructure"
challenges.
For decades, Linux desktop distributions have shouldered the responsibility of packaging, maintaining, and distributing applications. They played a vital role in integrating diverse software into cohesive, user-friendly experiences—turning the raw materials of free software into polished systems that people could actually use. But today, this model is limiting our ability to grow a vibrant application ecosystem. Developers are distanced from their users, lack visibility into where their software runs, and have few paths toward building community or receiving financial support. The "distribution model" encourages "software as hobby". It’s time for a cultural shift—from a distribution-centric model to an application-centric ecosystem, where developers take ownership of their software lifecycle and deliver directly to users via sandboxed, cross-distro technology like Flatpak. With the enablement of financial transactions, we will need to realize how this will reshape relationships between desktop projects, users, organizations, and developers. We'll also focus the downsides of this model and what to anticipate. Join us on seeing a different facet of Free and Open Source software that distinguishes itself differently from "software as infrastructure" challenges.