Re: 'PANIC!'
There is no
panic because there are plenty of options and generally plenty of time but there is a case for investigating and investing in the other options now.
1) Personally speaking, it's psychological. There is a sense of "Well, if you are all in with GTK and Gnome based Mint then I rather want to go where the love is for KDE." That's no disrespect to Clem and Co who have done a great job on the Mint flavors for many years but they have decided to specialize and it makes sense to look for a KDE specialist given the QT and GTK technologies are so very different. I actually predicted this day would come. That's why I was VERY interested in Neon when it was first announced even though I did not jump at the time.
2) Some of us have had to make a decision. I had a load of laptops I suddenly had to install an OS on about four days after the "sentence of execution" was given. I wanted more time to play but, given my massive workload this year, I just ran out of time. I had to make a judgment call and I went Neon. It's worked out well so far. (I did try PCLinuxOS but it would not co-operate in the slightest!)
3) There is a logic behind looking at what is available now and not in the future. The whole purpose of Clem giving advance warning on dropping KDE is to allow us KDE stalwarts to prepare. There are likely to be two or three distro which are going to gain a lot of users from this and if we research and investigate now then those distros will gain user base and support before 18.3 expires. If people jump sooner rather than later we can help strengthen existing distros. The unhappy case of Maui (which was another shock!) goes to show what could happen if we wait until 2021 to shop around. Better to research, trial and jump now so there is a fall back position. This is
strategy.
pistols.jpg
4) It's good to discuss and SHARE. I was/am hoping that users will share experience. With time it gives us chance to try and feedback in advance. As far as I am concerned all distros are good in the sense that if people want use any particular distro then they should go for it. I mean, with my workload and being no longer working in IT setting up Arch is a non-starter. But Arch has got quite a following! Horses for courses. People's feedback on different distros here should give a good feel for what works for different people out in the different fields. I have a saying; "A man's desktop is his castle." I will be giving much more in depth feedback on Neon in the future for others to learn from... but now is not the time. It's endless classes and University submissions and this year has worn me out.
Note that I am interested in people's experience across a range of distros. I have had to make a call and gone Neon and, in the main, it's working! But that does not stop my curiosity. I still want to know about the other distros.
I want to know what Netrunner is like. And has anyone ever tried Ultimate??!!
Regarding emotions and post nuances:
Yes, text only is a nightmare. For a start, without emojis and images the poster naturally sounds more aggressive than is intended. Unless you are very careful posts can automatically sound more assertive and aggressive than intended. I am an ex-pat Brit and the British communicate by deadpan humor. A number of my posts have been misunderstood here and even edited because I have used humor in a way that was misunderstood by people! I made a joke statement on one blog and came back after a good nights sleep to a total flame fest and very nearly a warning by the moderator because my one line had been totally misunderstood! It was to do with the difference in how the words would be interpreted in British culture and across the pond in the US! I explained it was humor and what was meant and everybody calmed down and the issue went away. But it did not occur to me for an instant that my quip would be seen as aggressive.
So it's a nightmare because with posters from different countries and cultures there is also room for mis-interpretation as well!
I find anime pictures helpful for carrying over helpful cues on the nuance of my posts…
hateu.jpg
See – all clear.
Yes, for the irony deficient, that was humor!
laugh1.jpg