Mageia 6 Delays, Linux Longevity, Fedora CANTFIX

Today in Linux news Mageia 6 is falling a bit behind schedule having missed a stabilization release and now delaying versions freeze. openSUSE Tumbleweed received an update to Plasma 5.6.3 and Red Hat announced their latest coup. Elsewhere, Bruce Byfield wondered how long desktop Linux can last considering the world's obsession with portables and Eric Nicholls wondered if Ubuntu can retain their "title of best desktop OS."

Mageia 6 development has hit a few snags during its cycle. A mass rebuild delayed the first developmental snapshot (alpha) and a second was skipped altogether. A stabilization snapshot (beta) was due Monday, but is yet to be announced. Considering that, Rémi Verschelde today announced a delay in the versions freeze scheduled for Thursday. He said the snapshot is coming along and might be ready soon, so the versions freeze delay will probably be just a matter of days. They're playing it by ear but hope the freeze will commence May 17 or 18. Stabilization snapshot 2 was estimated for June 1 but could slip because of ripples from this week's delays even if no new issues arise. The Release Candidate was planned for June 17 with the Final arriving June 29, but those could see delays as well.

Bruce Byfield today asked, "How long will desktop Linux last? He wrote that with the rise of mobile devices PCs are becoming the tools of graphic artists and businesses. He thinks since many components that make up our desktops aren't designed for mobile Linux "remains a minority operating system." He fears developers may be pressured to stop working on desktops and concentrate on what businesses want. "When the present handful of desktop Linux users fade away, perhaps desktop Linux, too, will end, having lasted a single generation."

Eric Nicholls at Darkduck.com asked, "Will Ubuntu keep the title of the best desktop OS?" Assuming Ubuntu actually owns that title, Nicholls stated once upon a time Ubuntu was everything a desktop Linux user could want (again, assuming that's true), but they've gone off-track since deciding to go Unity and Amazon "spyware." He said at that point Ubuntu no longer felt like a community distribution. Well, that was quite a while ago, but Unity still isn't feature competitive with the likes of GNOME, KDE, MATE, or any of them to this day. Nicholls said he, like many others, defected to Fedora, "the bleeding edge of Linux," which offers "everything Ubuntu should have been." He wondered if Unity 8 will keep desktop users happy or will it end up pushing the rest away?

In other news:

* Tumbleweed gets Plasma 5.6.3, Firefox 46

* Why Fedora Can't Fix NVIDIA Kernel Issues

* Canonical thanks location sponsor Microsoft China for Hackathon space

* Red Hat Scores Royal Bank of Scotland Account

* How Linux Kernel Development Impacts Security