[ale] What did we want?

[jhubbslist at att.net (Jeff Hubbs)]

On 1/28/14, 6:34 PM, Vernard Martin wrote:
>
> Summary: The attendance itself was a sign that ALE is on its last 
> legs. It doesn't matter what we want as obviously no one showed up to 
> even state what they wanted :)
>
Perhaps it's because Linux as a community-based alternative to big 
software vendor hegemony is on its last legs.  A Windows alternative 
with excellent hardware support and buy-it-and-turn-it-on convenience 
appeared in the form of a re-ascendant Apple, and most Linux usage was 
vacuumed up by a traditional for-pay model as presented by Red Hat.  If 
you have vendor-sourced classes and certification tests instead of 
self-assembling forums, IRC channels, and listservs, community is no 
longer all that important.