Containerised Application technologies like AppImage, Snappy and Flatpakpromise a brave new world for Linux applications, free from the worries ofshared libraries and dependency issues. Just one problem, this is a road longtravelled before, such as in the application dark ages of Win32 applicationsand DLLs. And it worked out so wonderfully there... Do we risk a future where,like the resurrected dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, this family of applicationswill break their containment and start eating our users? This session will tryto present a balanced argument about the situation, frankly discussing thebenefits promised by these technologies, but highlighting the very real issuesand risks their widespread adoption could, and in some cases are, alreadybringing to the table. The talk with cover the promised benefits of application containers, such asAppImage, Snappy and Flatpak. It will detail the empowerment of developers whouse the technologies, the ability for upstream projects to have a much closerrole in delivering their software, and the benefits that brings to both theupstream projects and their users. But as a counter to those benefits, thesession will detail some of the risks and responsibilities that come with thattechnology. The complexities of library integration, the risk of introducingnew forms of dependency issues, and the transference of responsibility forthose issues, plus security, away from the current Distributions deliveringupstream projects towards those upstream projects directly. As a conclusion,the session will present some suggestions to upstream projects adopting thesetechnologies to start them down the road of accepting those responsibilitiesdirectly, or working more closely with existing Distribution projects to sharethe burdens these technologies now provide. Room: Janson Scheduled start: 2017-02-04 12:00:00