My Fedora 15 beta experiences so far

[Pasha R]

On Mon, May 30, 2011 at 11:42 PM, Richard Ryniker <ryniker at alum.mit.edu> wrote:
>>I don't understand why Fedora maintainers decide to replace functional
>>software by software that lacks many essential features ...
>
> I have no direct connection to Fedora decision-makers, but I doubt this
> is something they "decide" to do.  It happens because Fedora seeks to
> package very recent versions of code, in order to deliver the latest
> function to users who either require this (new hardware, perhaps) or
> desire early exposure to the latest software in order to test
> applications and prepare for more general use by others.

I don't thinks this is correct. Fedora maintainers do not just fetch
latest version of every software included in Fedora and push it into
next release. There were several cases when some software were
supposed to be included into release but was removed and rescheduled
into future releases. Recently it happened with systemd, IIRC gnome 3
was scheduled at first for F14, but wasn't included. There were some
cases when newer kernel versions were not pushed to release because of
regressions. So, someone clearly decides whether "latest and greatest"
version is ready or not.

>
> Rawhide may be closer to the "cutting edge" but Fedora releases can be
> close enough that the blood is not yet dry.  Some distributions focus
> much more on stability and code maturity than Fedora.  For some users,
> one of these can be a better choice, or perhaps an older Fedora release
> where many of the rough edges have been polished.
>
> In most cases, upstream developers perform correction of problems and
> polish.  Sometimes these developers have connections to Fedora, but I
> think it is unfair to suggest Fedora seeks to create problems.  It
> accepts problems in order to understand what troubles may lie ahead,
> document them, and facilitate their solution.  Only in rare instances
> (e.g. anaconda) does Fedora "decide" exactly what function will be in a
> release.
>
> There is precedent for Fedora to decide some feature is too troublesome
> to include in a release, witness the controversial decision to exclude
> systemd late in the F14 cycle.  If Fedora waited until all components
> were mature or non-controverisal, if would no longer be Fedora.
>

I never suggested Fedora seeks for problems. But sometimes their
decisions look really wrong to me. And decision to push Gnome 3
without any fallback (I'm not talking about fallback mode) as well as
decision to declare Gnome 3 as ready when it is far from being ready
are, IMHO, wrong.