Jan Iven wrote: > On 06/05/08 18:38, Andy Buckley wrote: >> Troy Dawson wrote: >> >>> **Ubuntu Creep >>> - We ran out of time for this. >> >> Oh well! Does anyone have any comments to make online? > > From my perspective, what matters with SL(C) is the validation of > experiment software, and the (current) assumption at CERN that desktop > == public interactive cluster == batch service == grid (i.e. HEP-wide > compatibility). In my opinion, the homogenisation of HEP batch services has been a double-edged sword. On one side, it has definitely made the above assumption valid, which is nice for non-technical users (except that their desktop functionality is then limited to that of a 3 year old batch/Grid node... hence the Ubuntu/Fedora creep among more techie physicists). But simultaneously, the single supported target platform has led to non-portable experiment software and LCG middleware. My experience is that *having* to ensure portability results in better code, and easier portability between major releases of SL, but the enforced SL domination means that this often isn't done. So I (tacitly, but actively) welcome Ubuntu (and everything else*) creep, in the hope that it might lead to better software! And that's *my* $0.02 ;) Andy * Except Windows ;) -- Dr Andy Buckley Institute for Particle Physics Phenomenology Durham University 0191 3343798 | 0191 3732613 | www.insectnation.org