LinuxQuestions.org
Welcome to the most active Linux Forum on the web.
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - News
User Name
Password
Linux - News This forum is for original Linux News. If you'd like to write content for LQ, feel free to contact us.
All threads in the forum need to be approved before they will appear.

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 05-31-2019, 08:57 AM   #1
Steve R.
Member
 
Registered: Jun 2009
Location: Morehead City, NC
Distribution: Mint 20.3
Posts: 521

Rep: Reputation: 98
TechRepublic Article Concerning Distros Shutting Down


Scientific Linux and Antergos are shutting down: It's time for Linux Mint to go

Good summary article. The article reviews the issue of "fragmentation". Fragmentation is positive from the perspective of innovation and providing choice. However, there is also an unfortunate downside. The article notes: "The infrastructure and developer attention needed to maintain a distribution is extensive, and difficult to justify." Distro consolidation may take some of the excitement out of introducing new features to Linux, but it may also lead to an improved more "standard" operating system with greater acceptance by the public.
 
Old 06-05-2019, 06:36 AM   #2
cynwulf
Senior Member
 
Registered: Apr 2005
Posts: 2,727

Rep: Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367Reputation: 2367
Except that Linux Mint is not a "distribution". It is essentially a desktop and some packages for Ubuntu and based on Ubuntu which is in turn based on Debian. Whether it exists or not is immaterial to the author or anyone else, except those who want to use it. If Mint were to abandon their own derivative and trust to the major distributions to be a platform for their project, they would be placing all their eggs in one baskets and trusting their fortunes to the likes of Red Hat and Canonical, both of which are commercial entities, mainly invested in gnome and present on the gnome foundation advisory board.

If you look at gnome foundation's 2017 financial statement, the advisory board are paying most of the bills. But and I quote, "The Advisory Board has no decision-making authority"...

It was friction inside and outside the gnome project, due to ever increasing corporate meddling and the introduction of "gnome-shell" and it's "my way or the highway" deal, that instigated the creation of the mate and cinnamon "forks" in the first place.

People within the gnome project made it very clear back then as to what direction the project was going in:

https://lists.fedoraproject.org/pipe...ne/007335.html
https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnom.../msg00110.html
https://mail.gnome.org/archives/gnom.../msg00116.html

If that kind of thing looks familiar - it's because it is. It's one of the guiding principles of proprietary GUI design. Microsoft for example have a familiar UI which the end user cannot customise beyond changing a theme or maybe moving the taskbar, the same with Apple. Beyond that, there is little you can do to "personalise" what's on offer - in some ways gnome took that even further.

And now we have a tech press journalist, who mostly writes about Apple and Microsoft, talking about "fragmentation" and how they should just stop what they're doing to remove 0.0001% or whatever of that "fragmentation", to please whom exactly?
 
Old 06-05-2019, 06:52 AM   #3
hydrurga
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Nov 2008
Location: Pictland
Distribution: Linux Mint 21 MATE
Posts: 8,048
Blog Entries: 5

Rep: Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925Reputation: 2925
As a Linux Mint MATE user, Mint ain't just about Cinnamon.

Linux thrives through the large number of distros constantly developing their own ideas and approaches. Not only do users benefit from having more choice and more likelihood of finding a distro that suits their needs, but the rest of the community get to see what works or doesn't work in other distros and jump on aboard or avoid with a bargepole accordingly. That's the organic Linux ecosystem and I for one am happy with it.
 
Old 06-05-2019, 01:57 PM   #4
dugan
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Nov 2003
Location: Canada
Distribution: distro hopper
Posts: 11,200

Rep: Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307Reputation: 5307
Honestly, it looks like another one of those very, very stupid OH MY GOD THE SKY IS FALLING THERE ARE TOO MANY DISTROS ALL BUT A HANDFUL OF DISTROS SHOULD BE DESTROYED FOR THE GOOD OF ALL OF LINUX WHAT RIGHT DID THEY EVER HAVE TO EVEN EXIST takes.

And the first distro they nominate to be sacrified is Mint. I don't think I need to spell out why I disagree with that.

Last edited by dugan; 06-05-2019 at 02:30 PM.
 
Old 06-06-2019, 04:02 AM   #5
fatmac
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Sep 2011
Location: Upper Hale, Surrey/Hants Border, UK
Distribution: Mainly Devuan with some Tiny Core, Fatdog, Haiku, & BSD thrown in.
Posts: 5,443

Rep: Reputation: Disabled
A real distro is the one that compiles all the programs - all others are really just spins.

(Debian, Redhat, Slackware, etc.)
 
Old 06-11-2019, 03:26 PM   #6
ChuangTzu
Senior Member
 
Registered: May 2015
Location: Where ever needed
Distribution: Slackware/Salix while testing others
Posts: 1,718

Rep: Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857Reputation: 1857
Quote:
Originally Posted by fatmac View Post
A real distro is the one that compiles all the programs - all others are really just spins.

(Debian, ̶R̶e̶d̶h̶a̶t̶ Fedora, Slackware, LFS, Gentoo, etc.)
Well then, let me correct that list for you.
 
  


Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
shutting down an interface when another interface goes down deadheadblues Linux - Networking 2 11-17-2014 05:48 PM
Errors on shutting down (does not let shut down) Sefid par Linux - Server 1 03-09-2014 03:27 PM
Shutting down and non shutting down x windows golden_boy615 Linux - General 1 03-01-2010 06:28 AM
LXer: See distros. See distros run. Run, distros, run. LXer Syndicated Linux News 0 06-13-2006 01:24 AM
shutting down computer does not auto power down... mmail75 Fedora 3 11-18-2003 07:25 PM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - News

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:38 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration