What's the future of Linux Mint?

[jimallyn]

What's the future of Linux Mint?

World dominance.

[Pierre]

and to get back to NO.1. on Distrowatch

[witzel]

What is told in the video? Can you summarize?

I can. Here are his points...

Linux Sucks 2021
The End of Linux is Nigh

This is not an inflammatory statement.

Who am I to make such a preposterous claim?
- Years in Linux Marketing.
- Years in Linux development.
- Years in Linux/Tech journalism.
- Years in Dev Management.
- Years as a Tech executive.

Let's put emotions aside.

Leadership Under Attack
- Richard Stallman out of the Free Software Foundation
- Eric Raymond banned from the Open Source Initiative.
- They even are trying to oust Linus Torvalds.

Biggest Linux Companies Undergoing Dramatic Changes
- IMB buys Red Hat.
- SUSE gets sold every third Thursday.
- Linux Journal killed off by parent company.

Linux Complexity Increasing Rapidly
- Almost 2 Million lines of code added per year (just for the kernel).
- Numerous, complex features (such as Intel's Software Guard Extension

Enclaves)
- Increasing security vulnerabilities.
- This is not sustainable.

All In-Person Linux Events Canceled
- Community run conferences are dead for (at least) 2 years.
- Corporate events dead too.
- Virtual events have been total complete failures.
- Most user groups? Also dead.

Google Building Linux Replacement
- Fuchsia being built.
- Includes ability to run Linux binaries (aka, transition functionality).

No Operating System Stays Dominant Forever
- CP/M
- DOS
- Windows 3.x or 9x
- Mac OS
- They all die (or get killed).
- Linux has had an unusually long run.

In short...
- Founders banished
- Community in shambles.
- Companies losing Linux focus.
- Core sysem components reaching unsustainability.
- Google building replacement.
- Statistically unlikely to stay active much longer.

Will Linux die completely? No. So when?

[Portreve]

“Reports of our death are greatly exaggerated.”
— GNU and Tux

[MurphCID]

Here is the opposing view: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFL8gimGaTk Yes, we have had some "own goals" and that is a function of the never sufficiently despised "cancel culture" from people who are afraid to discuss and perhaps have to change *their* minds. Lunduke is at time annoying.

[Portreve]

Given the challenges the Linux community is facing, as neatly summarized here:

Well, I didn't listen to the whole thing, but I did listen to the intro and then kind of skipped around a bit.

I've watched a number of Bryan Lunduke's presentations over the years, and what he's always tried to do is be a tough-love (with humor) motivational speaker. At least to an extent, it almost seems like that's kind of what he's done here. However, he also did try to spell out the things he feels point to GNU+Linux's demise. Maybe he's hoping people will take this as some sort of clarion call to do something about the situation. Who knows.

Anyhow, here's what I'd say about the upcoming death of GNU+Linux...

First off, I'm struck by the list of OSs upon which GNU+Linux has been placed. Those are all commercial, proprietary OSs. They're all kind of classical OS examples. I've no idea why anyone who knows better (as Mr. Lunduke certainly should) would put it on that list. Other than being an OS, it doesn't fit on that list. Period.

The Linux kernel as well as a goodly chunk of the GNU OS are a part of so many different things I don't think it can be listed, and certainly not in a normal message board post. But, suffice it to say, they're a part of router OSs, car computer and entertainment system firmware, directly or indirectly they are a part of, or otherwise inform at least some aspects of BSD, which means they can be found in macOS; and of course let's not forget either Android OS or Chrome OS. They straight up run most of the servers on the Internet as has already been amply pointed out above.

The only place, really, where GNU+Linux struggles is the desktop. However, all it would take (in my view) is a concerted effort by us, the community, and because of how things are going in the overall world of technology these days with subscription-based everything, and ever decaying Microsoft Windows, real inroads could be made. The average person simply needs to see how utterly irrelevant most of the fancy trappings are, and at that point they could be liberated from most (if not all) proprietary software.

It was the case with both Linus Torvalds and Richard Stallman that the projects they respectively founded are structured and populated in such a way that they'll trivially easily outlive those two humans. Whether they depart by force, choice, or death, it doesn't really matter.

So, it's not without reason that I take in such materials as this video and react with a simple "Meh." not as disparagement, but a lack of interest borne of a dearth of relevance.

[freshminted]

What are they call it after 25.x Zanna/Zoe/Zulya/whatever? What will v26 be? Will there be a v26...