Linux Mint Founder Calls for Better Developer Support
Usually cheerful Clement ‘Clem’ Lefebvre says he "hasn't enjoyed" this development cycle.
Linux Mint is among the most popular and seemingly most easy to use Linux distributions. The Ubuntu-based distribution has built its loyal user base and has been growing ever since. However, the founder of Linux Mint seems to be burning out.
In the latest blog post, Linux Mint founder Clement ‘Clem’ Lefebvre wrote that he didn’t enjoy the latest development cycle as two of the most talented developers have been away. The project couldn’t make the performance improvements it expected.
“Boosting performance in the Muffin window manager hasn’t been, and still isn’t, straight forward,” he wrote.
Some frustration also seems to stem from the new logo and website design, “Feedback on the new website and logo brought a huge amount of incertitude,” Lefebvre said.
It seems he is also sensing the developer community of Linux Mint is not as energized as it once used to be. “For a team to work, developers need to feel like heroes. They want the same things as users, they are users, they were “only” users to start with. At some stage they decide to get involved and they start investing time, efforts and emotions into improving our project. What they’re looking for the most is support and happiness. They need feedback and information to understand bugs or feature requests and when they’re done implementing something, they need to feel like heroes, they literally do, that’s part of the reason they’re here really,” said Lefebvre.
It’s not certain if Lefebvre is tired of the project or it’s a momentary frustration with some core team members not showing up and negative feedback on some changes.
Issue 248/2021
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
Nvidia and Valve Collaborate to Bring DLSS to Linux
Both powerhouses in the gaming industry are trying to make the experience on Linux much improved, by way of DLSS.
-
Kali Linux 2021.2 Official Release Now Available
The latest iteration of security fan-favorite Kali Linux has been released with new tools, themes, and plenty of improvements.
-
Entroware Unleashes a Beast of a Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a portable workhorse, look no further than the Entroware Proteus laptop.
-
System76 Unveils its “Launch” Keyboard
The open-source darling, System76, is about to launch the Launch keyboard and you can pre-order yours now.
-
Armbian 21.05 Now Available
The Armbian developers have released the latest update to the Debian-based Linux distribution geared for ARM and embedded devices.
-
StarLabs has Released Another Linux Laptop
A new 14" Linux laptop has been released by the company that created the 11" Star Lite and can be purchased with your choice of Linux distribution.
-
Ubuntu 21.04 Adds Support for Active Directory and Other Major Changes
In a bid to help make Linux more viable for the business desktop, Canonical adds support for Active Directory and a few other notable changes.
-
GNOME 40 Available on openSUSE
The rolling release edition of openSUSE, Tumbleweed, now offers the latest version of the GNOME desktop.
-
Apple M1 Hardware Support to be Merged into Linux Kernel 5.13
Linux users will be able to install their favorite distribution on Apple’s M1-based hardware.
-
KDE Launches the Qt 5 Patch Collection
To support and maintain a stable Qt 5 for KDE Gears and Frameworks, KDE will maintain a patch collection.