Bonum Certa Men Certa

Matthew Miller, Fedora Project Leader, Sheds Light on Future of Fedora (GNU/Linux for Desktops/Laptops for the Most Part) Under IBM

Personal view on Fedora (might not represent the views of other site contributors)

2.4M

YouTube link



Summary: IBM should divert the funds it allocated to lobbying for software patents to an actual good cause, such as GNU/Linux promotion (not just at the back end)

I'VE USED Fedora since its first version (I had also used it as Red Hat before FC) and the last version I used on a production machine (at my office) was 14. I basically more or less gave up on it just over a decade back, having encountered some issues mostly with package management (conflicts). I tried introducing my brother to it. He tried it for a while, but he did not stick with it at the end.



Fedora is used routinely by several regulars in our IRC community. They post screenshots of the site from Fedora and they experiment with new releases. Fedora is good for geeks and it is cutting-edge -- sometimes to the extreme -- no doubt!

Fedora is mostly used as a desktop platform; it can act as a server platform too, but for that functionality there are many reasons to use CentOS (or RHEL) instead.

"...unless IBM invests many millions if not billions of dollars in it -- promotion/marketing included -- the project is unlikely to just thrive on its own."I've long been worried that -- seeing the offloading of ThinkPad to Lenovo -- IBM would express no desire or interest in GNU/Linux as a desktop operating system (when I say "desktop" I mean laptop as well).

IBM has not convinced me otherwise; earlier today Red Hat's official site promoted Microsoft yet again [1] (it happens every week, sometimes multiple times per day!) and there's news about Fedora [2,4], based on a mailing list message from Matthew Miller [3], who speaks of "a GetFedora.org redesign to better showcase the current and future versions of Fedora to better expose them to new users." According to him, it will be mostly about "spins" and "editions/flavors" (including for devices that aren't desktops).

Reading between the lines for a bit, and taking a tacit new rant [5] into account (we have had more lately in our Daily Links), I get the impression that quality control is being compromised for speed. IBM's true dedication or commitment to the project hasn't been clear (since 2018) and Planet Fedora is getting a lot quieter over time; this can possibly be interpreted as decline in community participation if not resources allocated by Red Hat/IBM.

What is the future of Fedora? Hopefully something quite bright, but unless IBM invests many millions if not billions of dollars in it -- promotion/marketing included -- the project is unlikely to just thrive on its own.

Come on, IBM. Show us you love GNU/Linux. How old is that "Prodigy" boy today (commercial shown at the top)? Go find him and help spread the word about Free software. The community would thank you.

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. Performance of RHEL for Databases on Microsoft Azure Cloud

    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0 (RHEL 8) is a release that brings forth optimizations in the kernel. The RHEL 8 kernel reduces system-call related overhead which improves I/O performance for both the filesystem and network subsystems.

    The SCSI multi-queue I/O elevator enables Microsoft SQLserver OLTP workloads to improve by a factor of two, when compared to the single-queue I/O elevator shipped in RHEL 7. Changes to XFS filesystem journaling has enabled improvements of up to 10% in RHEL 8 as well.



  2. Fedora Project Leader Envisions The Project Becoming An "Operating System Factory"

    Fedora Project Leader Matthew Miller has shared his vision for Fedora over the next decade and is encouraging discussions about the direction of this Red Hat sponsored Linux distribution over the next five to ten years.

    The FPL sees a route to Fedora becoming an "operating system factory" built off the successes of the various Fedora Editions. With the growing editions/flavors of Fedora from Fedora Silverblue to IoT and others, Matthew Miller is hoping for a GetFedora.org redesign to better showcase the current and future versions of Fedora to better expose them to new users. Additionally, he would like to promote the Fedora tooling to users for those wanting to create new spins.



  3. Let's talk about Fedora in the '20s!

    Hi everyone! Since it's a new year and a new decade [*], it seems like a good time to look forward and talk about what we want the Fedora Project to be in the next five and even ten years. How do we take the awesome foundation we have now and build and grow and make something that continues to thrive and be useful, valuable, and fun?

  4. Fedora QA No Longer Needs To Test Physical CD/DVD Media As Part Of Their Formal Release Process

    This morning's Fedora Engineering and Steering Committee (FESCo) meeting approved more changes for this spring's release of Fedora 32.

    The main matter debated at the FESCo meeting today was whether CD/DVD physical media install issues should be considered blocker bugs. Basically it's a matter of whether Fedora CD/DVD issues should hold up releases in acknowledging a far majority of users these days use the install media via USB flash drives and the like, no longer resorting to burning DVD images.



  5. Fedora 31 : Can be better? part 004.

    The common question of any Fedora Linux user: Can be better?. Yes, we can fix some common errors...



Recent Techrights' Posts

France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: What Was Reported to the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA)
We hope to finish this whole lot within a week, then move on to election, lobbying etc.
Techrights Will Spend the Next Few Years Writing a Lot About Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs)
It's a growing problem
The State of EPO Staff's Health in Rijswijk or The Hague
We're going to cover the EPO some more later in the month
NVIDIA Corp Lost 36% of Its "Value" Since Cheeto Inauguration, But "Gen Hey Hi" (GenAI) is Totally Not a Bubble
Selling loads of unneeded hardware based on hysterical hype; like selling shovels during a Gold Rush
 
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: Tariffs Backfiring, YouTuber Arrested, X/Twitter Set to be Fined
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Offline is For Everyone, Copyright Colonialism, and More
Links for the day
Links 05/04/2025: TikTok Unsold (Still), Royal Society is Dead
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Growing in East Asia, Windows by Default No More?
GNU/Linux is now on the shelf
Slopwatch: Anti-Linux 'Articles' From Linux-Hostile LLMs
It is almost always negative things and nobody can be held responsible for it except the charlatans prompting the LLMs
Links 05/04/2025: Fentanylware (TikTok) "Sale Looks Highly Imminent" (US), Stock Market Drowning in Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 05/04/2025: Moving Plants, No to Smartwatches, RAID Hygiene
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, April 04, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, April 04, 2025
Techrights Has Dealt With More Potent SLAPPs Than Violent Microsofters Begging to Hide What They Did to Women
I became accustomed to SLAPPs
Links 04/04/2025: Fury in South Korea, Flight MH370 Remains Mystery
Links for the day
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Anger and Raspberry Pi CM4
Links for the day
Links 04/04/2025: LLM Slop Bubble Bursting and Korea Music Copyright Association Bans Slop 'Music'
Links for the day
Traf-O-Data, the Company That Jeffrey Epstein's BFF (Bill Gates) (Co)Founded 53 Years and Went Out of Business Due to Heavy Losses
Who will die first, Bill or Microsoft?
Why Microsoft's Shares Sank Almost 20% in Recent Months (the Bubble is Imploding)
verified press reports from the past 24 hours
A Note on SimilarWeb
Or why SimilarWeb is meaningless for more than 99% of the sites on the Web
GNU/Linux Rises to Almost 5% in Algeria While Windows Sinks to All-Time Low
GNU/Linux grew tenfold
Where to Get More Gags
A valued reader recommended that to us
Links 04/04/2025: Tech Stock (Inc. GAFAM) Fall, Google Pretends to Do End-to-End Encrypted Emails (With Google in Control)
Links for the day
IBM Said to be Shutting Down Offices or Sites in the United States
the press can no longer avoid admitting that IBM moves many jobs to India
To Participate in Fedora Diversity You Must Use Proprietary Software
Not for the first time either
LLM Slop as Attack Vector on the Reputation of Linux
The attacks on Linux have escalated to information warfare
Yandex About to Be Three Times Bigger Than Microsoft (Bing) in Asia
That's about 60% of the world's population
Gemini Links 04/04/2025: Decoupling Updates, Elaho as Gemini Client
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, April 03, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, April 03, 2025