Bonum Certa Men Certa

Red Hat's Desktop Efforts (e.g. Fedora) Lag Behind the Debian Camp

Fedora



Summary: Fedora, despite leading in much of the technical side, fails to catch up with the reliability of Debian-derived desktop distributions

Fedora is Red Hat's breeding ground for innovation in GNU/Linux, especially when it comes to the desktop side. Yum is being phased out and Fedora repositories (with binary packages [1]) leave room for desire [2]. I used Fedora with KDE numerous times before, from version 1 (Fedora Core) through to 14, which I used only for a few months. Fedora 11 is the one that I used the most with KDE and it was never as satisfactory as Kubuntu, especially because packages were not as simple to install (I have 3 Kubuntu installations at the moment, one Debian). My experiences with KDE in Fedora are not unique [3] and staff inside Fedora calls for testing of Fedora 20 [4], hoping this would help identify bugs. Based on the quality of previous releases, it's hard to believe this one would offer a high level of polish.



Fedora does not have many derivatives. There are some like Hanthana [5] and Korora [6], which are now derived from the latest stable Fedora, but neither one is exceptionally popular (or at least not ubiquitous). In my view, and based on my many experiences with Fedora since the project was born, desktops that are derived from Debian are generally more reliable and easier to maintain. At work, Debian is our standard system to use. Red Hat needs to recognise this and put more effort into the desktop side. Phoronix has some new benchmarks [7,8] and Tecmint has a comparison from an administrative point of view [9].

Related/contextual items from the news:



  1. Conky Manager Fedora Packages


  2. Handbrake for Fedora, it’s a thing
    I was reading today about how the Korora spin on Fedora includes Handbrake, the popular cross-platform video transcoding/DVD-ripping utility.

    But I am running regular Fedora 19, albeit with proprietary-package assistance from RPM Fusion and a few other repositories.

    Still, Handbrake isn’t in any of those repos.


  3. I tried Fedora 19 KDE one more time
    My first attempt to use Fedora 19 KDE was not very successful. I was not able to even login into the system, spinning on the login screen endlessly. So much for that. In the beta phase before that, I discovered a whole bunch of bugs, including a severe kernel panic that would kick in on the graphical stack approx. five minutes into the session. All in all, it was a blunder.


  4. Upcoming Test Days, and Fedora 20 status
    If anyone’s noticed I haven’t been around as much lately – I’m in Europe visiting family and friends (and, later this week, the Brno office!) If anything I’m busier than usual, but there’s a lot of dealing with personal administrivia and seeing people, so I’m not getting as much work done as usual. (Plus my internet connections here are much slower and I’m on my laptop instead of my usual mission control, which makes me a lot less efficient). Normal service should be resumed around Oct 19th, please do not adjust your sets!


  5. Hanthana 19.0 Review: Sri Lankan spiced up Fedora, has some bugs but quite good in overall
  6. Korora 19.1 released
    Today we have released Korora 19.1 which is a 3 month update to the original 19 release. Anyone already running Korora doesn’t need this, however if you are planning do any more installs we highly recommend downloading this new release as it includes all updates, a few tweaks and fixes a number of bugs. This release also includes versions of the MATE and Cinnamon desktops which we’ve created to gauge community interest.


  7. Ubuntu 13.10 vs. Fedora Linux CPU Benchmarks
    A few days back I shared OpenGL benchmarks of Fedora 19, Fedora 20, Ubuntu 13.04, and Ubuntu 13.10. For those not interested in the CPU performance of these four Linux distributions, those results are now available.


  8. The First Wayland Benchmarks From Fedora 20 Show Great Promise
    Since last week it's been possible to run the GNOME Shell on Wayland with Fedora 20. The user-experience isn't yet refined and easy, but Linux enthusiasts can easily get a GNOME 3.10 session running on Wayland for testing purposes using F20 packages. In this article are the first graphics benchmarks from Fedora 20 when running GNOME 3.10 on Wayland with XWayland support and then from running a clean X.Org Server.


  9. RedHat vs Debian : Administrative Point of View




Recent Techrights' Posts

SUEPO Munich Informs/Contacts the German Government About the Situation at the European Patent Office (EPO)
Salary Erosion Procedure: Two letters to Germany
 
The "Official" Numbers That Say "Microsoft Layoffs" Will be Misleading
The scale of the layoffs in gaming will be unprecedented
SLAPP Censorship - Part 109 Out of 200: When You Drag Family Members Into a Case Unrelated to Them Because Their Relative Published Something
This did not exactly surprise us given what we had already encountered
Gemini Links 17/06/2026: Feeling "Useful"; PISA Pen-and-Paper Cipher
Links for the day
Trajectory of O'Reilly: From Publisher of Books to Microsoft Advertiser
The state of the media is not good and when prolific book publishers start running ads as 'articles' or videos (never mind the disclosure) it is rather tasteless
Links 17/06/2026: Slop's “Crack Cocaine” Approach to Pricing, Microsoft's Rapid Shrinking of Gaming Business
Links for the day
Links 17/06/2026: "How Developers React to Slop-Scented Blog Posts", Police Caught Fabricating Evidence Using Slop
Links for the day
More Than 90% in European Patent Office (EPO) Ballot Vote for Continuation of Industrial Actions/Strikes, About Half Wish to Further Intensify These
Ballot results on intensification of actions
If Not Now, Then When?
If you are not part of the solution/s, then you're merely a vessel or passive participant
Microsoft Offers People 'Retirements' (Again) to Fake (Artificially Lower) Number of Layoffs, Those People Are Nowhere Near Retirement Age
Microsoft implicitly affirms huge cuts are coming
Gemini Links 17/06/2026: 10 Years in Canada, Wild Flower Explorations, and Microslop
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The Portuguese Prodigy
In this part we will present some additional background information about Mendonça's activities before he joined the EPO
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, June 16, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Microsoft Will "DOOM" id Software and Others, Claim Observers
As the worst predictions trickle in and out Microsoft loses control of the narrative
Austria Shows Rapid Demise of Windows in the EU
Expect many Microsoft layoffs soon, and not just in XBox/gaming
Links 16/06/2026: Mainstream Media Affirms Microsoft Studio Closures Planned, Anthropic’s Latest Marketing Hype Debunked by Experts
Links for the day
This Morning The Register MS Published Page With "AI" 42 Times in It. It Was Paid SPAM.
The Register MS is propping up a pyramid scheme
Microsoft XBox is Having Its 1990s Apple Moment (Near Bankruptcy), Says Respected Insider
Microsoft's CEO has already admitted that XBox is having serious financial problems [...] They already try to reuse the brand "XBox" to refer to Vista 11
OECD Carries Water for Microsoft, Targets Schools and Children With Slop Agenda
Peel off a layer or two to find GAFAM
Microsoft "Xbox braces for sweeping studio closures before June 30."
Microsoft's control of the damage-limiting narrative has clearly slipped
In Africa's Largest Nation Windows Has Fallen From 100% to a Lot Less, Now All-Time Lows
Let's see what happens or will happen in Algeria in 2027
Richard Stallman's Talk Due in One Hour, Here's What People Say
To Stallman, what matters is control by users and collective control
SLAPP Censorship - Part 108 Out of 200: Moving On and Moving Up
an explanation of our rich history and commitment to courageous whistleblowers
Links 16/06/2026: UK to Restrict Access to Social Control Media; The FCC Wants to Eliminate Burner Phones
Links for the day
Why We Call Him Dr. Stallman
He got at least 15 such titles
United States of America: GNU/Linux Hovering Around 5% (It Started There)
GNU/Linux is turning 43 this year (in a few months), Linux will turn 35
Microsoft Promises Made to be Broken
It's a real problem and it is not limited to XBox
IBM Down $61 in Two Weeks, The Lies About Quantum Computers Didn't Last Long
IBM is an unsafe employer, not a good place to work
You Probably Don't Want to "Go Viral" in Toxic Social Control Media
Good news sites do not strive to go "viral" but to be consistently good, irrespective of "traffic"
New 'Article' in The Register MS Has Mentioned "AI" 44 Times. The Register MS Got Paid to Publish It.
Bear this in mind when seeing "hey hi" all over the news
18-Year Anniversary of Our IRC Community
As noted some months ago, trolling and abuse in our IRC network is very rare these days
Microsoft - Like IBM - is Leaving a Legacy is Emptied/Abandoned Buildings
Microsoft's LinkedIn had many layoffs recently
Richard Stallman's (RMS) Speaking Tour in Europe Coincides With Abandonment of Microsoft Windows
The message applies to all governments
Gemini Links 16/06/2026: Nazi Law of Mental Abuse and Lewis Aburrow's 3D-Printed Slider
Links for the day
Links 16/06/2026: Windows TCO and Fedora Finding Serious 20-Year-Old Holes in Microsoft Outlook
Links for the day
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: An Advisor to the President
he had recently advanced to membership of the "inner circle" of Team Campinos.
Two Weeks Ahead of July Three Studios Microsoft Plans to Shut Down Already Named
This is what happens when companies try to establish themselves on a mountain of promises and false assumptions, kicking the can down the road until payroll becomes hard to complete
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, June 15, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, June 15, 2026
IBM Works for Microsoft
Hours ago in IBM.com
Microsoft May Already Be Shutting Down More Gaming Studios
the writings are on the wall: XBox is in disarray.
European Patent Office (EPO) Series: The EPO's Brussels Liaison Officer
It would appear that in January 2020, Pellegrino was induced by Campinos to jump ship from the EUIPO and take up his current position as Brussels Liaison Officer for the EPO
European Patent Office (EPO) Receiving Section (RS) and Elimination of Many Roles
Open letter to Mr Rowan (VP1) and Mr Aledo Lopez (COO) [...] Does the EU leadership intend to tolerate this?
Microsoft's XBox is Disintegrating, Executives Are Quitting
We're basically witnessing the slow-motion "end of XBox"
Gemini Links 15/06/2026: Slop Code Benchmarked, Wireguard on NixOS and Guix
Links for the day
Links 15/06/2026: More Own Goals for the Slop Industry, Palantir Trouble in UK
Links for the day
Apple Wants Everybody to Forget About "Vision Pro" Because It Was a Giant Flop
worthless gadgets with no obvious use case/s
The Cyber Show is Adopting 'Book Form' (or Long Form Publications)
Andy and Helen nowadays invest more time in making their site faster
Richard Stallman's Software Freedom/Digital Sovereignty Tour in Europe
As things stand at present, the vast majority of people have their interactions controlled/policed by GAFAM
Estimates of Scale of Microsoft Layoffs, Will Likely Happen "in Batches"
"Heard 10 to 15 percent eventually but idk date."
IBM Has Put Red Hat on a Poor Diet of Slop, Now Fedora and Red Hat Suffocate or Choke on It
Over the weekend we saw more people leaving the company
Estimates of Microsoft Layoffs: 3,000 Staff to be Culled Just in Gaming, How Many in Other Divisions?
Now the XBox division has its own "fall guy", but it is a woman
Straw Man Arguments Against Rust
If anything, it teaches the importance of auditing packages
Tesla Debt Rose Sharply, Sales Declined, Wall Street's Claim of Tesla "Value" is Merely a Fairytale (and Not Just Tesla)
We would gladly sell land on Mars to anyone who honestly believes a company that loses money is somehow "worth" trillions in Wall Street
Stop Calling Losses "Investment"
XBox is losing money, it is a sinkhole
For Justice We Need More Speech, Not Less Speech
When you attack something you are just giving that something a bigger platform
SLAPP Censorship - Part 107 Out of 200: Keeping Law Accessible to Everybody
We'll have stories related to this in the future
Links 15/06/2026: Slop "Beg Bounties", Wall Street Fakes 'Worth', and Arkansans Saved PBS
Links for the day
Gemini Links 15/06/2026: Dating Oaks, Simulation, and Theremin
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, June 14, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, June 14, 2026