A new update to the Raspberry Pi OS, formerly known as Raspbian, made open source fans nervous. Why? The new operating system is ping Microsoft servers every time the user updates their applications or the operating system itself.
The noise is kind of a storm in the teapot, because the new operating system simply pings the repositories that contain Microsoft’s Visual Studio code editor, a simplified IDE that has become a formidable tool in the programmer’s arsenal – and, presumably, a solid educational tool.
That said, open source fanatics see companies like Microsoft as anathema (or at least an obstacle) to their work. The same fanatics successfully fought for the Raspberry Pi Foundation to open their graphics driver code for their GPU, Broadcom VideoCore splinter.
What Microsoft could do with this ping is limited, but Reddit users are concerned about the possibility of receiving targeted ads through Bing that will focus on Raspberry Pi users.
“People didn’t have a chance to find out about the new repository until it had already been added to their sources, along with a Microsoft GPG key. It is not very transparent to say the least. And, in my opinion, it’s not how things should be done in the open source world ”, wrote the Reddit user Fortysix_n_2.
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The Raspberry Pi team sees this change as an effort to make it easier for new users to code on the platform.
“Thanks to everyone for your comments, this will not change because it makes the first experience easier for people who want to use tools like VSCode,” he wrote. Gordon Hollingworth, Director of Software Engineering for Raspberry Pi.
The repositories in question are the databases that the operating system uses to keep software versions and updates available. Most repositories are open source and reside in places like Github, while the Visual Studio Code repository resides on Microsoft servers. Users who want their devices not to be tarnished by corporate codes do not have the option to immediately turn off this repository when installing the Raspberry Pi OS.
“The more I think about it, the more the element of trust comes to the fore, ”Raspberry Pi CEO Eben Upton told Gizmodo. “It appears that this is a minority of people who have an unrealistic view of how many people are trusting when they install any piece of software. It’s not just proprietary software –remember how we all trust OpenSSL to be good, because it’s free and widely used and couldn’t be full of terrible security bugs? It is ridiculous to suggest that we are in any way betraying people by choosing to trust Microsoft. “
But some people are interpreting the movement as a betrayal and are abandoning the boat as a result.
“I’m sorry, Raspbian, but I have to say goodbye to you. No hard feelings. I wish you all the best and rot in hell, ”wrote a Reddit user named Dr0zD.