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There's going to be an online Linux App Summit this November

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Are you interested in helping to make Linux a great end-user platform? Or perhaps you just want to listen to speeches and find out more info from those working on it? Mark November 12-14 on your calendar.

This is the date of the upcoming 2020 Linux App Summit, an event co-hosted by GNOME and KDE as they work to bring everyone together to push Linux further. LAS will have a range of different talks, panels, and Q&As on a wide range of topics covering everything: creating, packaging, and distributing apps, to monetization within the Linux ecosystem and much more.

Recently they announced that the call for Talks is now open, so you can submit your ideas by September 15. They're encouraging new speakers, so you don't need to have done lots before. If you have a good idea, you should go for it and they have some suggested topics too like growing the ecosystem, platform diversity (technology speaking like helping to enabling cross-platform distribution), innovation and more.

Picked speakers will be announced on October 1.

We shall hopefully follow the event along to report on anything interesting in November. They also appear to be looking for sponsors to come up.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Tags: Apps, Event, Upcoming
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I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
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randyl Aug 11, 2020
The one thing I hope comes out of this summit is a better way forward for application development. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths and weaknesses (due to fragmentation). I feel like we're often so worried about courting Windows and Mac users and making our software available to their platforms that we've neglected the deep fragmentation in our own.


Last edited by randyl on 11 August 2020 at 4:05 pm UTC
slaapliedje Aug 11, 2020
Quoting: randylThe one thing I hope comes out of this summit is a better way forward for application development. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths and weaknesses (due to fragmentation). I feel like we're often so worried about courting Windows and Mac users and making our software available to their platforms that we've neglected the deep fragmentation in our own.
I don't really see that big of problem with fragmentation, outside of most commercial vendors seeing it. Like when you ask Adobe to support desktop Linux, they have to ask Qt, GTK, other? Then they have to ask Ubuntu, RH, Debian, Arch...

But the second part of that is pretty easy to answer these days (basically AppImage is the only one so far that doesn't have some people whining about it in the flatpak vs snap debate). 1st one should be chosen on technical / licensing reasons. But let's face it, it's things like the Adobe suite that makes or breaks 'year of the desktop linux', as it is on the list of requirements 'some' people have.
grigi Aug 11, 2020
No, the "fragmentation" isn't a bad thing. Think of it in terms of innovations, if only one thing is allowed, will we ever actually get progress?

I mean look at multi-desktop as a good example.
That started as a friendly competition between window managers in the 90's. And then two decades later the first commercial (and inferior ito usability) clone of it appears.

I can't imagine being productive without that feature, for example.

So, keep the fragmentation, keep the ability to choose, because without choice life will be oh so dreary.
Purple Library Guy Aug 11, 2020
As to fragmentation . . . I've never really had a problem installing and running KDE apps in Mate (which is I believe GTK-based). Sure, the initial download of the first one is a bit slow because it brings in a bunch of KDE stuff, but whatever. Maybe people finickier than me would says "But it doesn't look exactly like the Gnome apps!" . . . inquire whether I am concerned.
randyl Aug 12, 2020
Recognizing fragmentation issues and solutions doesn't imply all paths lead to homogenization. When we ask a game studio to support "Linux" and provide us a native "port", what exactly are we asking? What are they supposed to target and support? Do we expect them to support all our various packaging systems?

This doesn't even touch on all the Linux ports that only work with specific package systems, distro, or library versions. Most of the titles in consumer gaming fit into the category of closed proprietary binaries that are specifically subject to fragmentation.
slaapliedje Aug 12, 2020
Quoting: grigiNo, the "fragmentation" isn't a bad thing. Think of it in terms of innovations, if only one thing is allowed, will we ever actually get progress?

I mean look at multi-desktop as a good example.
That started as a friendly competition between window managers in the 90's. And then two decades later the first commercial (and inferior ito usability) clone of it appears.

I can't imagine being productive without that feature, for example.

So, keep the fragmentation, keep the ability to choose, because without choice life will be oh so dreary.
Yeah, can't tell if Windiws copied Linux fir virtual desktops, or because macOS had them. Also not sure if NeXTSTEP is where those came from or just most other Unix DEs. Either way, from my understanding the Amiga had them first, and independent resolutions to boot!
slaapliedje Aug 12, 2020
Quoting: randylRecognizing fragmentation issues and solutions doesn't imply all paths lead to homogenization. When we ask a game studio to support "Linux" and provide us a native "port", what exactly are we asking? What are they supposed to target and support? Do we expect them to support all our various packaging systems?

This doesn't even touch on all the Linux ports that only work with specific package systems, distro, or library versions. Most of the titles in consumer gaming fit into the category of closed proprietary binaries that are specifically subject to fragmentation.
In my mind we should be asking 'please support this game on Linux via Steam or GOG or itch.io.' not "please make debian packages."
furaxhornyx Aug 12, 2020
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Quoting: grigiNo, the "fragmentation" isn't a bad thing. Think of it in terms of innovations, if only one thing is allowed, will we ever actually get progress?

In terms of innovation, yes, but no so much in terms of development (I quote below a good illustration):


Quoting: randylWhen we ask a game studio to support "Linux" and provide us a native "port", what exactly are we asking? What are they supposed to target and support? Do we expect them to support all our various packaging systems?

--8<--------------


Quoting: slaapliedjeIn my mind we should be asking 'please support this game on Linux via Steam or GOG or itch.io.' not "please make debian packages."

But wouldn't targeting a "store" end up for example like what we see with Epic Game Store getting exclusives ?
dvd Aug 12, 2020
Quoting: randylThe one thing I hope comes out of this summit is a better way forward for application development. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths and weaknesses (due to fragmentation). I feel like we're often so worried about courting Windows and Mac users and making our software available to their platforms that we've neglected the deep fragmentation in our own.

There is no fragmentation. On Windows every program every secon pwrusr g4m3r uses is a third party program that offers next to no integration to the supposedly "non-fragmented" desktop/toolchain.

As for support, all is really needed is that they figure out a base set of (external) libraries they want/need to support. And steam/gog provides them that already, so even them targeting ancient library versions are not a problem anymore.

To my mind every single dev/publisher that figured out that steam can ship their version of libraries and that it is enough to support one distribution to satisfy 99% of linux gamers has done a good enough job. This has nothing to do with how many desktop environments and how many "linux" distro flavours are out there.
furaxhornyx Aug 12, 2020
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Quoting: dvd
Quoting: randylThe one thing I hope comes out of this summit is a better way forward for application development. Our diversity is one of our greatest strengths and weaknesses (due to fragmentation). I feel like we're often so worried about courting Windows and Mac users and making our software available to their platforms that we've neglected the deep fragmentation in our own.

There is no fragmentation. On Windows every program every secon pwrusr g4m3r uses is a third party program that offers next to no integration to the supposedly "non-fragmented" desktop/toolchain.

Could you give an example of such third-party program ?

Quoting: dvdAs for support, all is really needed is that they figure out a base set of (external) libraries they want/need to support. And steam/gog provides them that already, so even them targeting ancient library versions are not a problem anymore.

To my mind every single dev/publisher that figured out that steam can ship their version of libraries and that it is enough to support one distribution to satisfy 99% of linux gamers has done a good enough job. This has nothing to do with how many desktop environments and how many "linux" distro flavours are out there.

99% seems a bit optimistic, if we look at the GOL statistics (assuming of course that those statistics are representative)
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