Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution

Re:Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution by Symmetry on Thursday December 08, 2022 @07:11AM (#33907019)

When I was working for the US government we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware," which RHEL wasn't because we payed for it. But it was cheaper and easier to do most of our development on CentOS systems and because the software was the same we weren't worried about compatibility issues.

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Re:Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution by mistrial9 on Thursday December 08, 2022 @09:37AM (#33908274)

> we had to obey rules against shipping "freeware"

I am in the USA but this is new to me.. can you say more or better, links? regarding science applications, specifically...

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Re:Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution by jl6 on Thursday December 08, 2022 @10:07AM (#33908602)

I’ve worked at orgs where the problem with freeware wasn’t the lack of cost, but the lack of support/indemnity/assurance and the lack of a contract to establish a legal framework for the dependency.

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Re:Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution by mistrial9 on Thursday December 08, 2022 @10:44AM (#33909086)

ok- so if I understand those terms, roughly(?):

support --> contact system for humans to reach other humans with bugs or questions

indemnity --> a legal statement by the vendor that the client is not responsible for long term liability for patents or legal challenges

assurance --> a legal statement that the vendor will take responsibility if the product is not what it appears to be, or is missing parts that are required to fit a purpose

establish a legal framework --> define the copyrights and governing law for rights, responsibilities and disputes between the vendor, their suppliers, the customer and their agents

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Re:Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution by jl6 on Thursday December 08, 2022 @02:04PM (#33911735)

Spot on. The kind of features that accountable execs care a lot about. The engineer’s conception of companies like IBM and SAP and Oracle is that they sell terrible clunky software, but a substantial part of the value comes in the CYA that the above brings. The users are rarely the real customer.

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Re:Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution by CaliforniaKarl on Thursday December 08, 2022 @02:17PM (#33911924)

For a concrete example, have a look at SQLite. SQLite is Public Domain, but it's used virtually everywhere, from phones to airplanes (https://www.sqlite.org/famous.html).

Not all companies are going to trust that something is actually public domain. So, you can get a "Warranty of Title" for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/copyright.html

And those companies might not be satisfied with "community support". So, you can get paid support for SQLite. See https://sqlite.org/prosupport.html

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Re:Fermilab/CERN recommendation for Linux distribution by Symmetry on Thursday December 08, 2022 @10:01AM (#33908535)

This was when I was at a FFRDC doing work for the DoD, the rules might be different elsewhere but I wouldn't be surprised if they were the same either.

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