Free Software: the road to a Universal bundle, a powerful app store, and world domination (Free Software Magazine)

Just as the debate never changes a few facts never change. No matter what you do there are advantages and disadvantages. You can't get everyone to agree on a replacement for the status quo (and if you think your way is so superior get out of your armchair, start a distro, start a revolution and prove your point.)

We won't ever have a stable, universal target. We won't ever have a single distribution. We won't ever get everyone to switch to app bundles. No matter what we do there are hard problems to solve and your pet answer probably doesn't solve them.

The theoretical ideal, where all users can find and install whatever they want, apps stay up to date if the users want them to, nothing every breaks, everything remains secure and trusted, and every user is not required to be an expert, is not possible. You have to give up something somewhere. Giving up control to Apple or someone like them is one option that won't be happening in Linux-land. Changing the way users search for software doesn't solve everything, changing who hosts the software doesn't solve everything, and splitting software into arbitrary system and non-system categories just plain doesn't work.

Can we all get back to something useful now?