Fuduntu Calls it Quits (Linux distro)

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Oh No! Fuduntu Calls it Quits

 

http://ostatic.com/blog/oh-no-fuduntu-calls-it-quits

 

by Susan Linton - Apr. 16, 2013

 

"I can't believe my eyes. Just as Fuduntu was getting rave reviews and moving up the charts, just a week after announcing their latest release the Fuduntu project "voted to end-of-life Fuduntu Linux." It seems developmental issues are forcing this decision, and signals a time when ultimately all GNOME 2 users will end up having to move on.

 

It was just last week that Fuduntu 2013.2 was announced with lots of updates as well as the teaser that Shawn Dunn has been developing KDE for Fuduntu and was working towards a KDE spin. I was anxious to test drive that one.

 

Lee Ward stated the reason for their decision was "support for GTK2 has decreased dramatically. With this, apps using GTK2 have been moved to GTK3 and old versions are no longer being maintained for either bugs or security flaws."

 

Starting immediately, there will be no new features added, except a few that were already in works. There will be one more update (2013.3), security fixes, and support will continue through September 30. At that time, the serious distro with a "punny name" will be no more. But all is not lost.

 

Ward also said that team members are discussing new distribution ideas basing on a different distro. Andrew Wyatt, founder and lead of Fuduntu, is retiring and won't be joining the new efforts. Discussion are just beginning and could go anywhere, but the community will be updated as soon as the team knows."

 

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Fuduntu Team meeting held on April 14, 2013

 

http://www.fuduntu.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5106

 

April 15, 2013 by Lee Ward

 

"On Sunday, April 14, the Fuduntu team held a public meeting on IRC. Many things were discussed, including some issues that have major implications for both the team and community. Among the things discussed were introduction of team members, status of various teams, and the future of Fuduntu.

 

The biggest topic discussed was the future of Fuduntu. The team has been striving to bring a stable system to the community and we believe we’ve been able to do that. One of the key aspects of that was using GNOME 2. However, as time has gone by, support for GTK2 has decreased dramatically. With this, apps using GTK2 have been moved to GTK3 and old versions are no longer being maintained for either bugs or security flaws.

 

In addition to this, the move of the Linux world to systemd has caused a problem for Fuduntu as it has become a required thing for many programs, but we do not use it. Together with the GTK issue, Fuduntu has reached an impasse. To move forward would take quite a bit of time and manpower, neither of which can be supported.

 

The team discussed several options and, ultimately, voted to end-of-life Fuduntu Linux. This decision was not made lightly but, ultimately, it is was the best option. In its current state, Fuduntu would be broken when we tried to move forward.

 

Beginning today, no new features will be implemented. The only exception are those features which are already being worked on. We will continue to provide bug and security fixes until the last day of support, however. 2013.3 will be the last release and September 30 will be the last official day of Fuduntu Linux.

 

Following that decision, however, most of the team members then discussed the idea of creating a “new” Fuduntu. Andrew Wyatt, however will not be a part of the new distro in an official capacity. After the decision to EOL, Andrew, the founder and lead developer of Fuduntu, announced his plans to retire after the final Fuduntu release. Andrew will be missed and his hard work and dedication is appreciated by all. While he will not be serving in an official capacity, Andrew will be serving as an advisor to the leadership and team of the new distro.

 

The plan for the new distro is to rebase it against another well-established distro. At this time, the team is discussing the plans with that and the community will be notified when a decision has been made. We realize that this will be a tough time for many and we hope to make it as smooth as possible.

 

We know that this may come across as a very disappointing announcement. However, we also feel this is the most responsible course of action. The Fuduntu team is committed to bring the best desktop experience and the only way to do that is to EOL Fuduntu and, for those continuing, start from scratch and allow a phoenix to rise from the ashes.

 

Next week, there will be another meeting in #fuduntu on Freenode. This will be a public meeting to discuss the future distro that will be started after Fuduntu’s EOL. We invite the entire community there and hope to get input from all those who wish to contribute.

 

The IRC log for the meeting can be downloaded at http://fuduntu.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=5106"

 

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"Attached is the log conversation from the meeting.

 

http://www.fuduntu.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5106&#p23424

 

File comment: 14 April 2013

freenode/#fuduntu

fuduntu-meeting.log.tar.gz [25.71 KiB]

http://www.fuduntu.org/forum/download/file.php?id=646"

 

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EOF