Fedora (Linux) is Destroying it self

Michael Cutler m at cotdp.com
Tue May 12 12:07:01 UTC 2009


Michael Nielsen wrote:

> 
> So in other words, I've noticed some problems that are creeping in, but I should shut up and not
> bring them to the attention of people developing the system.
> 
> I do not rant, I point out problems, I describe them, though not in the detail they probably deserve,
> I work in the field, trying to promote Linux to the corporate users, and desktop people, and I work
> with the system daily.
> 
[snip]
>

Firstly, I am a huge fan of the original Redhat Linux and Fedora, I have flirted with some of the other distributions, overall the Fedora Project is where I want to be. In terms of stability, reliability and feature-set - the work you guys are doing is top-notch and I would like to thank everyone that is a part of the process.

However, I am inclined to agree with some of the points brought up by Michael Nielsen. It feels like in recent releases there has been a progressive 'dumbing down' of Fedora. I understand the desire to simplify the installation process, usability and configuration for Desktop profile users, but not at the cost of removing functionality that veteran Power Users have come to expect.

Dismissing some of these points with statements like "you're a Power User, use the command-line" just grows resentment. Yes, it may be that I can workaround my particular issue(s) with the command-line and/or config file editing but when its a behaviour change between releases it can be frustrating to have to jump through a few dozen extra hoops just to get the machine in the same state as a fresh install from a previous release.

I believe there could/should be a happy medium were both newbies and power-users can get the most out of Fedora from the *same* release CD/DVD.

I work in a Research & Development group for a big corp, unfortunately the variety of the hardware I use mostly prevent me from using kickstart to clone the installations. During the testing phase for F10 I highlighted one such "dumbing down" issue in Bugzilla #468028 [1] and on this list - where the network interfaces are crippled post-install because the behaviour of the installer changed how the /etc/sysconfig/network-script/ifcfg-* files default. F10 went-to-press without a resolution to this issue and subsequently I have been manually frigging the ifcfg-* files after every single install since.

Personally, one feature I would love to see resurrected from Red Hat Linux was the "Installation type" dialog, where you could choose "Laptop", "Desktop", "Workstation" or "Server" - optionally followed by the custom package selection pages. Obviously package selection can be pre-set depending on the choice, e.g. no point having Battery monitoring installed unless its a 'Laptop'.

Can I suggest individual points highlighted by this email chain be raised as potential-feature-requests on F12 before they slip off the radar?

Should they be lodged as a feature-request in Bugzilla or is there a more appropriate place to start the discussion?

Kind Regards,
--
MC

[1] https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=468028


      




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