New Project Points to Danger of Boutique Distros
On February 6 the CrunchBang project called it quits and certain community members spoke of resurrecting the once popular Linux distribution. Well, over the weekend a new project sprang forth from the ruins to form CrunchBang++. Elsewhere, Charles Schulz says the more distros change the more some stay the same and Matt Hartley warns of the dangers of smaller "boutique" distributions.
The CrunchBang project called it quits on February 6 leaving some loyal users feeling jilted. Some even spoke of keeping the distribution alive. Well, a new project Website appeared on the Internet yesterday declaring "We are continuing the legacy with #!++. Same sleek crunch - new Jessie packages." Little information is available at this time but a net installation Beta is available for download with the usual caveats. The Website is registered to Ben Young, who also posted the announcement on Blogspot.com saying, "A couple of developers, Ben Young and Jimmer Overland, launched a new distro based on #! Crunchbang the #!++ Crunchbangplusplus." Young added that ++ will be the same as original CrunchBang but with a "few tweaks for the UI, and include the new Jessie repos." There are other projects being discussed and some forum members aren't happy with Young's efforts, but there ya' go. CrunchBang might not be cold and buried just yet.
Ah, but Matt Hartley warns today of relying upon what he calls smaller "boutique distros." While folks are drawn to the smaller more intimate community that comes with the boutique distros, users risk the sudden discontinuation that all too often happens. Hartley says those smaller projects have contributed in countless ways to the overall landscape and definitely fill a need. So, while users may risk future heartache, Linux wouldn't be the same without them. It may, or may not, be worth the risk.
Charles Schulz, famous mostly for his work on OpenOffice.org, LibreOffice, and OpenMandriva, said this weekend that some distros never change. He said his recent Fedora 21 installation would crash when opening software and became too annoying to use. He added, "That is the same kind of oddities I was having in Fedora Core 6; and Fedora Core 8; and Fedora Core 9." In response Schulz installed Arch and observed, "In comparison, the set-up of Arch Linux was a breeze and extremely fast." He added this tip for Linux users:
But the next time you think about switching to another distribution, remember you’re not just switching to another “system” but to a distinct and at times subtle experience that makes Linux all the more interesting and kept it so for many years.
In other news:
* Reviews: MakuluLinux 2.0 Cinnamon
* Elementary OS: A good looking cheap Apple lookalike
* Rawhide: Beloved and vital member of the Fedora family