Hey Ruben,
By James Sanders =C2=
=A0 in Software =C2=A0on May 30, 2019, 8:17 AM PST


Cinnamon, the=
popular open source desktop environment featured in Linux Mint, makes more=
sense as a distribution-agnostic package.


Since time immemorial=
=E2=80=94or, more likely, the late 1990s=E2=80=94the intractable problem of=
"fragmentation of the Linux desktop" has been debated on the int=
ernet. While some contend that the wide variety of competing distributions =
offers more choice to users, that choice can also be overwhelming=E2=80=94m=
aking it too difficult for new users to decide on a distribution, or leadin=
g them to choose a distribution that is poorly-built or unsupported, provid=
ing a bad first experience.

While these arguments have merit, they i=
gnore a critical problem: The infrastructure and developer attention needed=
to maintain a distribution is extensive, and difficult to justify. Long-ru=
nning Linux distributions have stopped operations due to a lack of resource=
s, and it is time for Linux Mint to consider doing the same in order to pre=
vent developer burnout, while transitioning Cinnamon into being a fully dis=
tribution-agnostic desktop environment.

Popular Linux distributions =
are ceasing operations
Shortly after the release of Red Hat Enterprise L=
inux 8 in May, Fermilab announced that there would be no new edition of Sci=
entific Linux, ending Fermilab's 20-plus year history of maintaining th=
eir own Linux distribution. Scientific Linux is little more than a recompil=
ed version of RHEL sources, with Red Hat's trademarks removed. This str=
ategy made sense at the time, as RHEL is a paid, commercial distribution. R=
ed Hat's 2014 acquisition of CentOS=E2=80=94a general-purpose free reco=
mpile of RHEL sources=E2=80=94made Scientific Linux functionally redundant,=
particularly with the introduction of CentOS Special Interest Groups (SIGs=
).


Likewise, the Arch-based Antergos distribution announced plan=
s to shut down, as the developers "no longer have enough free time to =
properly maintain Antergos," and that "continuing to neglect the =
project would be a huge disservice to the community." Certainly, commu=
nity members have already announced their intent to continue under the name=
Endeavour, which will be a significant undertaking=E2=80=94building a user=
-friendly installer for Arch is an interesting science experiment, consider=
ing that this is more or less at odds with Arch's goal of reducing abst=
ractions that complicate system management.


Linux Mint has the u=
nique distinction of being pragmatically correct twice, relative to the his=
tory of Linux on the desktop. When Mint was introduced in 2006, patent-encu=
mbered codecs were not straightforward to install in popular distributions =
like Ubuntu or Fedora; likewise, proprietary software like Adobe Flash requ=
ired separate installation, which was itself often a challenge. In part, th=
is was made possible due to Mint being distributed from the EU, where softw=
are patents are essentially unenforceable.

Circumstances changed sho=
rtly thereafter, as Ubuntu added an extra screen to the installer to instal=
l codecs starting with Ubuntu Linux 7.04, and in 2008, various third-party =
repositories for Fedora merged to form RPM Fusion, providing a single sourc=
e for packages not provided by Fedora for legal reasons. By 2010, Google Ch=
rome 5 was released, providing an embedded Flash plugin, and support for Li=
nux (and Mac OS), making the process of using Flash on Linux more straightf=
orward.

Since then, Flash adoption has plummeted, with support endin=
g at the end of 2020. Patents for MPEG-2, MP3, and Dolby AC3 have since exp=
ired, allowing Linux distributions to provide this capability freely, out o=
f the box. While Mint was the first distribution to effectively solve this =
problem, the conceit that Mint is easier to use because it provides codecs =
installed by default no longer holds merit, as other distributions have sin=
ce caught up. Mint has actually regressed in this position, as codecs are n=
o longer installed by default as of Linux Mint 18, making this identical to=
other Linux distributions.

The desktop environment debacle of the e=
arly 2010s
Nearly simultaneously, every major OS made highly polarizing =
changes to the user interface. Microsoft introduced the "don't cal=
l it Metro" interface with Windows 8, in 2012, which landed with a thu=
d, and in part, prompted the exit of Stephen Sinofsky. In 2014, OS X Yosemi=
tie attempted to make Helvetica Neue the default font, and abandoned the id=
ea a year later.

Linux had their own schism, for desktop environment=
s. Ubuntu Unity, originally developed for Netbooks, was introduced in 2010 =
to widespread derision, though had redeemed itself by the release of 12.04,=
with TechRepublic's Jack Wallen migrating back to Ubuntu after jumping=
ship following issues with the initial releases.

Likewise, in 2011,=
the introduction of GNOME 3.0 on Fedora 15 was met with derision. GNOME 3 =
was intended for use with touchscreens, upending the usage patterns that us=
ers had become familiar with, prompting Linus Torvalds to declare it "=
unacceptable." Dirk Hohndel, then-chief Linux and open-source technolo=
gist at Intel, declared at the time that "Gnome 3 is just completely u=
nusable as far as I'm concerned."

None of these were nearly=
ready for primetime when they launched, and this drove users away. For a t=
ime, Linux Mint "just worked" in a way that other distributions s=
truggled to do, because they pushed too-new software on users. Out of this =
chaos was born Cinnamon, the fork of GNOME 3 built for Linux Mint that uses=
the classic desktop paradigm introduced in Windows 95. It's familiar, =
and that's a good thing.

Cinnamon, the raison d'=C3=AAtre of=
Linux Mint
Cinnamon's familiarity to millions, and the easy learnin=
g curve it provides by retaining a usage paradigm nearly 25 years old, is n=
ecessary, in a way that proponents of GNOME or KDE may be unwilling to admi=
t. While Cinnamon is not the only desktop environment shipped by Mint, the =
distribution has jettisoned the KDE edition with the release of Mint 19. Wh=
ile Mint did not start with Cinnamon, for some time the bulk of original co=
de produced by the Linux Mint team relates to Cinnamon=E2=80=94it is the re=
ason the distribution has enduring popularity.

That said, the proces=
s of developing a Linux distribution and developing a desktop environment a=
re rather dissimilar. Cl=C3=A9ment Lef=C3=A8bvre, the founder and project l=
eader of Linux Mint, does a fantastic job of guiding development of Cinnamo=
n, though noted his own frustrations with the project in the March Mint upd=
ate. The post is difficult to summarize succinctly, though he notes that &q=
uot;I personally haven't enjoyed this development cycle so far," a=
nd notes a divide between the concept of "users" and "develo=
pers."

The following month, Lef=C3=A8bvre=E2=80=94who simply go=
es by Clem, in the Linux community=E2=80=94walked back the comments noting =
that he is not "depressed," despite some blogs reporting it as su=
ch, adding that "I also talked a tiny bit too much about what was goin=
g on within the team. On the one hand it is part of my role to report on th=
e progress being done, on the other hand we're dealing with individuals=
, there are people involved, efforts being made, feelings which can be hurt=
and it's part of my role also to protect that."

Clem doesn=
't need to carry the world on his shoulders
Linux Mint is actually t=
wo distributions=E2=80=94the Ubuntu derivative, for which Cinnamon, MATE, a=
nd Xfce editions are provided, and the Cinnamon-based Linux Mint Debian Edi=
tion (LMDE), which exists "for the Linux Mint team to see how viable o=
ur distribution would be and how much work would be necessary if Ubuntu was=
ever to disappear." Notably, LMDE previously had Xfce and MATE editio=
ns, though those have been jettisoned as part of an increased focused on Ci=
nnamon.

Ubuntu is practically in the too-big-to-fail category, as Li=
nux distributions go. While Canonical has abandoned development of Unity fo=
r Ubuntu=E2=80=94switching back to a modified GNOME 3=E2=80=94the distribut=
ion is continuing. Canonical is, at a minimum, solvent=E2=80=94particularly=
as expenditures for development of Unity stopped as programmers on that pr=
oject were largely laid off.

Ubuntu is not going anywhere. But, that=
only addresses why LMDE is unnecessary, not Mint overall. Maintaining this=
parallel plumbing for an alternative Mint for a doomsday scenario is paran=
oia, but it surfaces an interesting point: Cinnamon is, to an extent, devel=
oped to be distribution-agnostic, partially as a consequence of the existen=
ce of LMDE. Most of the original development for Mint is focuses on Cinnamo=
n, though maintaining the plumbing for the Ubuntu and Debian-based distribu=
tions=E2=80=94and other infrastructure, such as the website=E2=80=94is a ma=
ssive undertaking, and a time sink for a team this small.

Cinnamon h=
as momentum behind it, as the progressive, feature-rich implementation of t=
he classic desktop paradigm for Linux users. (For comparison, MATE=E2=80=94=
while venerable=E2=80=94is essentially in maintenance mode.) Persisting in =
maintaining Linux Mint as a platform to showcase Cinnamon makes no sense, w=
hen the labor of maintaining a distribution is handled=E2=80=94better=E2=80=
=94by Ubuntu, Fedora, SuSE, and Arch, among a select few others.

Ult=
imately, the benefit of Cinnamon can be realized as a truly distribution-ag=
nostic desktop environment. Most of the work is already done: Fedora alread=
y has a Cinnamon spin, and can be installed in Debian, OpenSuSE, and Arch (=
among others). Transitioning Linux Mint development efforts to make Cinnamo=
n an Ubuntu Flavor=E2=80=94adhering more tightly to Ubuntu's infrastruc=
ture and release timelines, rather than operating independently and running=
the risk causing package conflicts=E2=80=94would deduplicate a great deal =
of work, providing more time to further improve Cinnamon, and ease the stra=
ined schedules of Clem and other Linux Mint contributors.

For more o=
n Linux, check out "Fedora 30 brings immense quality of life improveme=
nts to Linux on the desktop" and "Half of employees think the clo=
ud is actually in the sky, according to a third of IT workers" on Tech=
Republic.

Hey Ruben,
By James Sanders =C2=
=A0 in Software =C2=A0on May 30, 2019, 8:17 AM PST


Cinnamon, the=
popular open source desktop environment featured in Linux Mint, makes more=
sense as a distribution-agnostic package.


Since time immemorial=
=E2=80=94or, more likely, the late 1990s=E2=80=94the intractable problem of=
"fragmentation of the Linux desktop" has been debated on the int=
ernet. While some contend that the wide variety of competing distributions =
offers more choice to users, that choice can also be overwhelming=E2=80=94m=
aking it too difficult for new users to decide on a distribution, or leadin=
g them to choose a distribution that is poorly-built or unsupported, provid=
ing a bad first experience.

While these arguments have merit, they i=
gnore a critical problem: The infrastructure and developer attention needed=
to maintain a distribution is extensive, and difficult to justify. Long-ru=
nning Linux distributions have stopped operations due to a lack of resource=
s, and it is time for Linux Mint to consider doing the same in order to pre=
vent developer burnout, while transitioning Cinnamon into being a fully dis=
tribution-agnostic desktop environment.

Popular Linux distributions =
are ceasing operations
Shortly after the release of Red Hat Enterprise L=
inux 8 in May, Fermilab announced that there would be no new edition of Sci=
entific Linux, ending Fermilab's 20-plus year history of maintaining th=
eir own Linux distribution. Scientific Linux is little more than a recompil=
ed version of RHEL sources, with Red Hat's trademarks removed. This str=
ategy made sense at the time, as RHEL is a paid, commercial distribution. R=
ed Hat's 2014 acquisition of CentOS=E2=80=94a general-purpose free reco=
mpile of RHEL sources=E2=80=94made Scientific Linux functionally redundant,=
particularly with the introduction of CentOS Special Interest Groups (SIGs=
).


Likewise, the Arch-based Antergos distribution announced plan=
s to shut down, as the developers "no longer have enough free time to =
properly maintain Antergos," and that "continuing to neglect the =
project would be a huge disservice to the community." Certainly, commu=
nity members have already announced their intent to continue under the name=
Endeavour, which will be a significant undertaking=E2=80=94building a user=
-friendly installer for Arch is an interesting science experiment, consider=
ing that this is more or less at odds with Arch's goal of reducing abst=
ractions that complicate system management.


Linux Mint has the u=
nique distinction of being pragmatically correct twice, relative to the his=
tory of Linux on the desktop. When Mint was introduced in 2006, patent-encu=
mbered codecs were not straightforward to install in popular distributions =
like Ubuntu or Fedora; likewise, proprietary software like Adobe Flash requ=
ired separate installation, which was itself often a challenge. In part, th=
is was made possible due to Mint being distributed from the EU, where softw=
are patents are essentially unenforceable.

Circumstances changed sho=
rtly thereafter, as Ubuntu added an extra screen to the installer to instal=
l codecs starting with Ubuntu Linux 7.04, and in 2008, various third-party =
repositories for Fedora merged to form RPM Fusion, providing a single sourc=
e for packages not provided by Fedora for legal reasons. By 2010, Google Ch=
rome 5 was released, providing an embedded Flash plugin, and support for Li=
nux (and Mac OS), making the process of using Flash on Linux more straightf=
orward.

Since then, Flash adoption has plummeted, with support endin=
g at the end of 2020. Patents for MPEG-2, MP3, and Dolby AC3 have since exp=
ired, allowing Linux distributions to provide this capability freely, out o=
f the box. While Mint was the first distribution to effectively solve this =
problem, the conceit that Mint is easier to use because it provides codecs =
installed by default no longer holds merit, as other distributions have sin=
ce caught up. Mint has actually regressed in this position, as codecs are n=
o longer installed by default as of Linux Mint 18, making this identical to=
other Linux distributions.

The desktop environment debacle of the e=
arly 2010s
Nearly simultaneously, every major OS made highly polarizing =
changes to the user interface. Microsoft introduced the "don't cal=
l it Metro" interface with Windows 8, in 2012, which landed with a thu=
d, and in part, prompted the exit of Stephen Sinofsky. In 2014, OS X Yosemi=
tie attempted to make Helvetica Neue the default font, and abandoned the id=
ea a year later.

Linux had their own schism, for desktop environment=
s. Ubuntu Unity, originally developed for Netbooks, was introduced in 2010 =
to widespread derision, though had redeemed itself by the release of 12.04,=
with TechRepublic's Jack Wallen migrating back to Ubuntu after jumping=
ship following issues with the initial releases.

Likewise, in 2011,=
the introduction of GNOME 3.0 on Fedora 15 was met with derision. GNOME 3 =
was intended for use with touchscreens, upending the usage patterns that us=
ers had become familiar with, prompting Linus Torvalds to declare it "=
unacceptable." Dirk Hohndel, then-chief Linux and open-source technolo=
gist at Intel, declared at the time that "Gnome 3 is just completely u=
nusable as far as I'm concerned."

None of these were nearly=
ready for primetime when they launched, and this drove users away. For a t=
ime, Linux Mint "just worked" in a way that other distributions s=
truggled to do, because they pushed too-new software on users. Out of this =
chaos was born Cinnamon, the fork of GNOME 3 built for Linux Mint that uses=
the classic desktop paradigm introduced in Windows 95. It's familiar, =
and that's a good thing.

Cinnamon, the raison d'=C3=AAtre of=
Linux Mint
Cinnamon's familiarity to millions, and the easy learnin=
g curve it provides by retaining a usage paradigm nearly 25 years old, is n=
ecessary, in a way that proponents of GNOME or KDE may be unwilling to admi=
t. While Cinnamon is not the only desktop environment shipped by Mint, the =
distribution has jettisoned the KDE edition with the release of Mint 19. Wh=
ile Mint did not start with Cinnamon, for some time the bulk of original co=
de produced by the Linux Mint team relates to Cinnamon=E2=80=94it is the re=
ason the distribution has enduring popularity.

That said, the proces=
s of developing a Linux distribution and developing a desktop environment a=
re rather dissimilar. Cl=C3=A9ment Lef=C3=A8bvre, the founder and project l=
eader of Linux Mint, does a fantastic job of guiding development of Cinnamo=
n, though noted his own frustrations with the project in the March Mint upd=
ate. The post is difficult to summarize succinctly, though he notes that &q=
uot;I personally haven't enjoyed this development cycle so far," a=
nd notes a divide between the concept of "users" and "develo=
pers."

The following month, Lef=C3=A8bvre=E2=80=94who simply go=
es by Clem, in the Linux community=E2=80=94walked back the comments noting =
that he is not "depressed," despite some blogs reporting it as su=
ch, adding that "I also talked a tiny bit too much about what was goin=
g on within the team. On the one hand it is part of my role to report on th=
e progress being done, on the other hand we're dealing with individuals=
, there are people involved, efforts being made, feelings which can be hurt=
and it's part of my role also to protect that."

Clem doesn=
't need to carry the world on his shoulders
Linux Mint is actually t=
wo distributions=E2=80=94the Ubuntu derivative, for which Cinnamon, MATE, a=
nd Xfce editions are provided, and the Cinnamon-based Linux Mint Debian Edi=
tion (LMDE), which exists "for the Linux Mint team to see how viable o=
ur distribution would be and how much work would be necessary if Ubuntu was=
ever to disappear." Notably, LMDE previously had Xfce and MATE editio=
ns, though those have been jettisoned as part of an increased focused on Ci=
nnamon.

Ubuntu is practically in the too-big-to-fail category, as Li=
nux distributions go. While Canonical has abandoned development of Unity fo=
r Ubuntu=E2=80=94switching back to a modified GNOME 3=E2=80=94the distribut=
ion is continuing. Canonical is, at a minimum, solvent=E2=80=94particularly=
as expenditures for development of Unity stopped as programmers on that pr=
oject were largely laid off.

Ubuntu is not going anywhere. But, that=
only addresses why LMDE is unnecessary, not Mint overall. Maintaining this=
parallel plumbing for an alternative Mint for a doomsday scenario is paran=
oia, but it surfaces an interesting point: Cinnamon is, to an extent, devel=
oped to be distribution-agnostic, partially as a consequence of the existen=
ce of LMDE. Most of the original development for Mint is focuses on Cinnamo=
n, though maintaining the plumbing for the Ubuntu and Debian-based distribu=
tions=E2=80=94and other infrastructure, such as the website=E2=80=94is a ma=
ssive undertaking, and a time sink for a team this small.

Cinnamon h=
as momentum behind it, as the progressive, feature-rich implementation of t=
he classic desktop paradigm for Linux users. (For comparison, MATE=E2=80=94=
while venerable=E2=80=94is essentially in maintenance mode.) Persisting in =
maintaining Linux Mint as a platform to showcase Cinnamon makes no sense, w=
hen the labor of maintaining a distribution is handled=E2=80=94better=E2=80=
=94by Ubuntu, Fedora, SuSE, and Arch, among a select few others.

Ult=
imately, the benefit of Cinnamon can be realized as a truly distribution-ag=
nostic desktop environment. Most of the work is already done: Fedora alread=
y has a Cinnamon spin, and can be installed in Debian, OpenSuSE, and Arch (=
among others). Transitioning Linux Mint development efforts to make Cinnamo=
n an Ubuntu Flavor=E2=80=94adhering more tightly to Ubuntu's infrastruc=
ture and release timelines, rather than operating independently and running=
the risk causing package conflicts=E2=80=94would deduplicate a great deal =
of work, providing more time to further improve Cinnamon, and ease the stra=
ined schedules of Clem and other Linux Mint contributors.

For more o=
n Linux, check out "Fedora 30 brings immense quality of life improveme=
nts to Linux on the desktop" and "Half of employees think the clo=
ud is actually in the sky, according to a third of IT workers" on Tech=
Republic.