Don Marti

Fri 08 Jul 2005 11:30:49 PM PDT

Google client software for Linux?

(update: see what I mean? I like Google, but not enough to add another site to keep track of to keep the software on my system up to date. Working with the system -- whether you call it "Up2Date", "ports", "Click-N-Run Warehouse", or "Synaptic" -- is good. Maintaining Yet Another Software Repository is bad.)

Doc writes, "I still think Google should commit publicly to making its client apps cross-platform, and that includes Linux..."

But why should I have to worry about installing "client apps" to plug into the Googlemind? I'd much rather see Google make APIs available, license any necessary patents in a freedom-compatible way, and throw support at projects to handle the client side. Sponsoring Firefox development is a good move, and I like the Firefox/Google integration model. I'd rather have my desktop apps of choice use Google info for me where appropriate than have to think about installing a Google-branded client.

Linux people are going to do their own client apps and tweaks anyway, and I want to update the software running on my machine through the package manager, not through a bunch of download sites—even if one of them is Google. Karsten Self has a good explanation of why the Package Manager is a good thing, toward the end of Spyware, Adware, Windows, GNU/Linux, and Software Culture.