{"id":238,"date":"2007-05-30T22:22:36","date_gmt":"2007-05-30T21:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itwriting.com\/blog\/?p=238"},"modified":"2007-05-30T22:22:36","modified_gmt":"2007-05-30T21:22:36","slug":"not-convinced-by-lina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itwriting.com\/blog\/238-not-convinced-by-lina.html","title":{"rendered":"Not convinced by LINA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Set for public release next month, LINA<\/a> is a new approach to cross-platform development. Write your app once, for Linux, then deploy using a lightweight virtual machine, implemented for Windows, Mac and Linux. Why even Linux on Linux? Well, on Linux compatibility is a problem, with a multitude of different distributions out there. A VM provides a secure, reliable and predictable environment for your app. LINA’s creators claim to have solved the obvious problems: access to resources in the host operating system, and matching the look and feel which the user is expecting.<\/p>\n

I’ll look it with interest when it appears next month, but I’m sceptical. It strikes me as a heavyweight approach, and I’d like to see the extent to which LINA blends with the host O\/S before believing all the claims. Some of the publicity annoys me too. Here’s a quote from the white paper:<\/p>\n

\n

All computer users – individuals and organizations alike – make the most fundamental software decision when they choose an operating system. Historically, this choice locks the user into a single, clearly-demarcated realm of available software. As a result, Windows and Mac users have virtually no  access to the vast world of Open Source software.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I do most of my work on Windows Vista, so apparently I have “virtually no access” to open source software. Yet happily installed on the Vista box in front of me is:<\/p>\n