In today's open source roundup: CrunchBang Linux has died. Plus: Android versus the iPhone, and the best keyboard apps for Android The death of CrunchBang Linux The Linux world is in mourning following the stunning announcement of the death of CrunchBang Linux. The developer of CrunchBang has decided that it’s time to move on. The CrunchBang forum has the official announcement: I have decided to stop developing CrunchBang. This has not been an easy decision to make and I’ve been putting it off for months. It’s hard to let go of something you love. When I first started working on CrunchBang, the Linux landscape was a very different place and whilst I honestly didn’t know if there was any value to it, I knew there was a place for CrunchBang on my own systems. As it turned out, there seemed to be quite a demand for it on other people’s systems too. I’m not entirely sure why this was the case, but if I had to guess, I would say that it was probably due to the lack of competition/alternatives of the same ilk. If I’m remembering correctly, at the time, there was no LXDE tasksel in Debian and certainly no Lubuntu around. CrunchBang filled a gap and that was nifty. So, what’s changed? For anyone who has been involved with Linux for the past ten years or so, I’m sure they’ll agree that things have moved on. Whilst some things have stayed exactly the same, others have changed beyond all recognition. It’s called progress, and for the most part, progress is a good thing. That said, when progress happens, some things get left behind, and for me, CrunchBang is something that I need to leave behind. I’m leaving it behind because I honestly believe that it no longer holds any value, and whilst I could hold on to it for sentimental reasons, I don’t believe that would be in the best interest of its users, who would benefit from using vanilla Debian. More at the CrunchBang Forum Redditors reacted to the demise of CrunchBang: Socratesthefoolish: “Welp. Who wants to make a crunchbang’d ISO of Debian Jessie once its stable with me? We could get it included in linuxbbq where it could live on forever.” Hysan: “Sad to see this distro go, but I definitely understand corenominal’s decision to move on. This was such a great distro to use as it worked on anything. I loved using it on my netbook back when that was my main device. Makes me wish I still had it around so I could boot it up for one last go.” Gnosticrose: “Thank you for all the work. Crunchbang was awesome!” R0ck0: “I used it for a bit and thought it was a cool little distro. But isn’t it pretty much just a custom Openbox desktop on top of Debian stable? Or was there more underneath? Couldn’t the customized desktop just become a Debian package like the other desktop options? As long as you just do a basic netinst install, then install it, it would pretty much be the same wouldn’t it?” Michaelrutherford: “This is very disappointing news. CrunchBang was an amazing distribution, I’m very sad to see it go.” More at Reddit Android versus iPhone Android and iOS partisans continually battle over which one is the better platform. But does it really make any sense to argue about it? Or should we just fall back to the old “to each his own” or “live and let live” ideas? I shared my thoughts about the iPhone versus Android holy war on my blog: Somebody gets it in their head that their device or computer is “better” than somebody else’s and then they have to run around blathering on and on about it. Ugh. It makes me roll my eyes into the back of my head when I read comments like that from one holy warrior or the other. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing bad about liking the computer or mobile device you use each day. And sharing your thoughts about it enthusiastically can be a good thing. But people cross over to the dark side when they don’t make allowances for other people’s needs and preferences. That’s when you see people moving from being a happy user to a shrill fanatic, and who wants to deal with somebody like that? More at Jim Lynch The best Android keyboard apps There are tons of keyboard apps for Android, but how do you know which one to use? XDA Developers has a very long and detailed roundup of Android keyboards that should point you in the right direction. GermainZ reports for XDA Developers: Many keyboards are available on Android, but not all of them are equal. Some try to be the best keyboard for all users, others target a niche market – whatever you’re looking for, you’re likely to find one that suits your needs. To help you find the keyboard you want, we’re going to review a dozen (based on your comments here, plus some popular choices) by taking a look at several aspects: Input Multiple languages Correcting input and predictions Themes/Customizabiity Other features Privacy Keyboard apps reviewed: Fleksy Google Keyboard Hacker’s Keyboard Hodor Keyboard Minuum Multiling O Keyboard MyScript Stylus NextApp Keyboard SwiftKey Swype Thumb Keyboard TouchPal More at XDA Developers Android Central also took a look at Android keyboards: Keyboards are important. Really important. Without a good keyboard, communicating on a smartphone can go from heavenly bliss straight back to teeth-pulling torture. Keyboards are also one of the most important apps you select from a security standpoint, as they are by their very nature keyloggers. And while most users will never really need to worry about if their keyboard is stealing their emails and passwords as they type it in, it is something that you should keep in mind if you’re checking out a keyboard that you know absolutely nothing about. Whatever your style may be, these are the five keyboards that we think stand above the rest, and may be worthy of composing your LOLs and WTFs. SwiftKey Swype Google Keyboard Fleksy TouchPal More at Android Central Did you miss a roundup? Check the Eye On Open home page to get caught up with the latest news about open source and Linux. Open SourceSoftware DevelopmentTechnology Industry