Should MEPIS change to the Ubuntu kernel?

Would the new kernel require everybody to reinstall Mepis from scratch? That's my only concern with the idea. If there could be an easy upgrade from the (soon to be) current Mepis release, I'm happy with whatever makes Warren happy.

If Mepis is going to use DCC items why not use the kernel. I do not care as long as it is does not change the ease of use and the other tweaks that Warren and the crew do to make Mepis such a nice distrobution to use. I am sticking with it until the cows come home.

I do not think that the average user will mind either. Also it will let Warren spend time on other items. Not being a programer I would imagine that compilieng and checking things out must be a real bear. Maybe it would free up time for Warren and others.

FRANK D. HUBENY

Mepis has been a great distro, and Warren is a visionary who understands the importance of simplicity and ease of use. As for kernels, I don't know much about them. Right now the issues are a udev / hotplug system that is reliable, a distro thats multimedia ready, and repositories that can be counted on not to destroy the system.

As long as is Linux kernel and it's free I don't care where it comes from if Mepis works right with it.
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I for one am suprised by this post . Maybe a few pros and cons by some one in the know would help . In the past Warren has been a master at picking and compiling Mepis kernels and at this time i see no reason to abandon ship .
But i have to say im curious about the reasoning behind the question.

jim (edit) just saw the other post about this and will stick with what ever Warren decides!

As long as compatibility is not an issue.

a current state of mind :roll:

I believe that the [future] conduct of Mark Shuttleworth's (K)ubuntu towards 'all things Debian" poses a considerable risk for Mepis. They could easily completely fork off Debian by spending another few million bucks.. I have always found it indicative that (K)ubuntu did not want to actively participate in the DCC: Why hand-over a good standardization effort/initiative for debian-based distributions and not knowing which direction (K)ubuntu will take with it.

Hardware detection better in (K)ubuntu than in Mepis? Don't think so.

It may be obvious that I voted :"No way, MEPIS should stick with Debian"

Regards, Ko

Ko Bros

I think it pretty irrelevant what Mark Shuttleworth decides to do in the future, if this kernel that Warren will compile now on the base of Ubuntu kernel works than that's fine by my, remember that kernel is Linux and it's open sourced, it's irrelevant if you use Ubuntu or Fedora or etc kernel as long as it works fine with your scripts.

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I use MEPIS for its debian compatability, get rid of that and you will have gotten rid of me, I don't want to see that happen but i made a promise to the community that i would depart when MEPIS breaks debian compatability (I cant stand UBUNTU's politics) please please don't do this to us.

Emelbert,

Myself and others I'm sure would like to to hear the argument for using the Ubuntu kernel.

My initial reaction is, 'what the hell are you thinking?' Isn't that biting the hand that feeds you? Is this just distro politics? Would changing benefit the LSB or work against it? What is your current assessment of the DCC common core and its future?

Please enlighten us!

q

I want Warren to make the choice and no body else. If MEPIS goes to Hell I want it to be Warren's choice, but if Warren is sick and is not capibale of making this choice please let us know and I will help you choose.

"We think that the Ubuntu kernel may offer better hardware support."

The bottom line is if Warren thinks the UBUNTU kernel would be better for MEPIS, then so be it.

regards,
Bad Dog
GNU/Linux User #38026X
SimplyMEPIS 3.4 - KDE 3.5
Kernel 2.6.12-1-p4-smp
INTEL P-IV 3.0GHz - 2X256 DDR3200

Would that break the compatibility with Debian that's the question. I doubt it -- the kernel is Linux after all. Ubuntu is not fully compatible with Debian because of other choices -- packages and libraries not because of the kernel (I think)

Actually I will shut up cause I don't know enough, I'd also call on people that don't understand the issue to do the same.

Why not take the ubunbtu kernel - and re-compile it even better - i'm sure it's not perfect!
-Quicker than compiling a fresh one....

Is this to be for the current kernel release only or an on-going arrangement? - Would Warren care to comment on this somewhat confusing turn of events?

I think I'll leave this decision to you, just do what is best... Of course, we're talking about the next Mepis version, not 3.4-3? Because changing the kernel now would probably mean another months of waiting...

It was my understanding that DCC was, in part, formed in response to Ubuntu's forking or separation or whatever one wants to call it, from Debian. I just went to the DCC home page, and Ubuntu is NOT listed as a member. Yet, now you say that the DCC is going to use Ubuntu sources for the next kernel. Something doesn't compute. Tell us more - what's the politics of this? More to the point, why are you asking we, the end users to vote on this?

My vote is definetely to stick with Debian. It is such a rock solid base to work from, and I personally do not care much for Ubuntu.

Just my two cents.

Here is a highly relevant article on this matter:

http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS8432548714.html

In my opinion Mepis should stick with Debian, but then I do not like (K)Ubuntu, but I also think Warren should be free to choose which ever suits him best.
Regards Jim

I really think Warren is a very intelligent person who wants to give us the very best distribution possible. If he believes using the Ubuntu source would help provide that end result, then I'm all for it. My only concern, however, is making sure other things aren't broken in the process. It appears most people don't really care, as long as Mepis continues to work well and is easy to use.

Pastor Ron

OK, I said I would shut up but I can't.

Did anyone of you who opposes this move run a Debian system with Ubuntu kernel? or Ubuntu with Debian kernel?

Yes, no?

My guess is that if you didn't try you have no idea what is this all about.

I have no idea why you hate Ubuntu, but guess what, you might not hate it because of the kernel.

Anyway, out and over.

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I've have run the lastest ubuntu(dapper flight-3) on my system and everything works fine.(For that matter Ubuntu 5.10 works also. . . ) Mepis also works fine. If Ubuntu's kerneal is of any advantage it should be used. It would not have any effect on Debian.

Richard

I really think we should stick to Debian because Debian has morals that Ubuntu lacks. Ubuntu has no social contract, and they don't follow the same philosophy. The only reason I choose MEPIS over UBUNTU is for these reasons, mepis used the Debian kernel. Now, I guess it wont matter if I ditch mepis and go to straight Ubuntu.

Here's the claims of the Debian project (AND THEY ARE very STRICT about upholding these guidelines) http://www.debian.org/social_contract

Ubuntu has no such promise to their userbase. That and they're steered purely by commercial interest.

Plus, isn't Ubuntu trying to get a license from Microsoft for DRM support in the kernel? I'd hate to see Mepis tainted.

That's the article on which I based my "I can't vote on this..." post. It seems to say, on second read, that there is collaboration in some respects between DCC and Ubuntu, especially on matters pertaining to source, and they continue, that the emerging kernels of the two would probably be very close. I guess the two kernels have now become one - I presume that's good. From the way the original question was posed, stating that hardware support would be improved, I guess the real question being asked is whether we're OK with a decision to get further "entangled" with Ubuntu/Shuttlesworth, as end-users of MEPIS. If that's what the question is, I have no problem with it. I don't think it means MEPIS is going to turn into Ubuntu by any stretch...the kernel is really a very small part of the total picture. If the assessment is that Ubuntu with its millions has been able to produce a better kernel, why not use it?

I use Mepis because it works far better than any other distro I've tried. I believe it works because of Warren. While I like Debian, what I really use and trust is Mepis.

After almost 2 years of excellent computing I see no reason not to continue to trust Warren. Please Warren pick what you believe is best and continue to deliver the best in class Linux.

Darrell

Ubuntu has broken Debian compatability on many levels (this includes the kernel) a Ubuntu kernel will not, under any circumstances, run under the basic Debian core. to get the Ubuntu kernel to run under debian the basic core system must be altered with the Ubuntu system. thus most everything would need the Ubuntu sources, instead of the debian sources.

Adrian has stated that I don't like it because of the kernel, this is correct. The sorry state of Debian testing/Unstable these days is because of Ubuntu's politics. It has hired away so many developers from the Debian core that it is barely keeping afloat. Now this shouldn't be interpreted as that I think Debian is about to collapse, quite the contrary. but remember, when you change the core you have changed the distro.

In short Adrian is right, I don't like Ubuntu for its kernel, but if we use its kernel we become Ubuntu. Thats not a place I want to be.

I am not impressed in the least with ubuntu...or i'd be running it

Well for people that panic that Mepis is leaving Debian:

Mepis never used Debian kernel to my knowledge -- so that's that!

(mos: I didn't say that, I said that most likely most of the people hate Ubuntu NOT necessarily because of its kernel)

Excuse my ignorance on this post.
I'm assuming that Debian is a member of the DCC.
If so, then...
If Debian plans on using Ubuntu Sources for it's own kernels it releases then it's still a DCC Kernel.
That statement sounds strange.
I can't imagine Debian releasing source code for Ubuntu to modify so then Debian can recycle it back into their code.
If Debian is going to release their own Kernels and the DCC is going to release their own
(made by Warren or Ubuntu using Debian's sources or Ubuntu's sources) then what's the point of the DCC?
Doesn't make any sense.

Now if Warren chooses to release a DCC kernel using Debian's sources with Ubuntu's hardware detection then go ahead.
If not then maybe it's not such a good idea to use Ubuntu sources.

"I'm assuming that Debian is a member of the DCC."

No it's not, DCC is organized by companies that base their distro on Debian so they will have a common base and make interoperability possible, DCC kernel is NOT Debian kernel.

So this is actually a BIG non-issue, since Mepis was not using Debian kernel ANYWAY.

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