Drew 🇵🇭

I'm now fairly sure I'll be switching my main #Linux machine (a quite elderly Thinkpad X1 Carbon) from #Fedora to #MXLinux.

Reasons:

1. Fedora has jumped firmly on the #AI bandwagon recently with its "AI Developer Desktop" abominations, and my inference is that the Fedora codebase and ecosystem will end up as untrustable slop.
[EDIT: but see comments below]

2. Fedora has also accepted financial sponsorship from #AWS, #Microsoft and #Meta for its current #Flock conference; not only that but #today it has unironically praised Meta here on Mastodon.

MX, meanwhile, is doing neither of those things. MX also gives me a chance to try #KDE #Plasma without #systemd to see if that's practical.

#NoAI

Jun 16 at 9:29amWeb
Show threadSebastiaanJun 16
@drewph The AI desktop thing was merelya suggestion by Red Hat and was axes pretty quickly after the communify made it clear that wasn't a good idea.
Show threadDrew 🇵🇭Jun 16
@sebastiaanfranken That's a small piece of good news though the Fedora project lead has still made it very clear that Fedora is embracing AI and wishes to build its community around AI technologies (his words not mine). My mention of the AI developer desktops was an example of this stated direction, that's all. Fedora will find other, possibly more insidious ways to double down on slop.
Show threadAlexanderJun 16

@drewph can you link me please the source for fedora being sponsored by microsoft/meta?
I need to read this for myself...

Mx Linux is a great choice btw.

Show threadDrew 🇵🇭Jun 16

@alexanderringler
Yep, the one I saw is from Fedora's official Mastodon account:

https://fosstodon.org/@fedora/116757210716198235

It's part of a thread; the previous post in the thread thanks AWS.

Fedora Project (@[email protected])

Thank you to Meta for sponsoring Flock to Fedora 2026 at the Gold level! Meta's open source contributions span the Linux ecosystem from kernel-level work to developer tools used across the industry. Their support at this level reflects a real investment in the communities that build the infrastructure the internet runs on. Thank you for your contributions to the Fedora community! #FlockToFedora #Flock2026 #Fedora #OpenSource #Meta

Fosstodon
Show threadAlexanderJun 16
@drewph thank you
Show threadDrew 🇵🇭Jun 16

@alexanderringler
There's also the official Flock 2026 web page which shows sponsors:

https://fedoraproject.org/flock/2026/

The Fedora Project Conference

June 14-16, 2026

Show threadAdam Williamson Jun 16
@drewph the AI developer desktop initiative is about producing things that make it easy to *use* AI technologies, not producing it *with* AI technologies. it's for people who like AI technologies. if that is not you, you do not have to use it. I don't use KDE, but I don't begrudge the KDE edition's existence.
Show threadAdam Williamson Jun 16
@drewph on meta, microsoft etc: well, one way to look at it is that they are going to use Fedora and base stuff on Fedora no matter what. it's F/OSS. nobody can stop them. is it better that they use it and give nothing in return, or that they use it and give us some money and help to build stuff? those are really the only choices.