Charles-H. Schulz Joins Mandriva's Recovery Team

Today Charles-H. Schulz posted a short message on Mandriva's official blog stating that he will be joining the Mandriva team to help them come back to life. Charles-H. Schulz is a very active member of the Open Source community and is probably best known for his invaluable contributions to OpenOffice.org, The Document Foundation, and LibreOffice.

Schulz said, "I will be assisting Mandriva and its community in defining our future and how best we will serve the interests of the community, of software freedom, and of Mandriva SA." Schulz has a special interest in the future of Mandriva because, as he said, "my first job was at MandrakeSoft years ago."

This is the most encouraging information to come out the Mandriva project in a while. The turn-over to the community was predictable, what else can an essentially bankrupt company do? But one had to wonder if they could really attract the talent anymore. Also, trying to remerge Mageia wasn't a big surprize - it didn't hurt to ask. But who saw Schulz coming?

Mandriva may have a fighting chance now. Not only does Schulz bring expertise to the task, but he also brings clout and vast network of friends and associates. It would probably be safe to predict another name or two jumping on-board in the coming weeks and months.

Good luck to Schulz and Mandriva.