Fedora 39 Released

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Fedora 39’s release highlights both technical progress and lingering pain points in the Linux desktop ecosystem. Users praise Fedora as a fast, reliable daily driver—especially on KDE and immutable variants like Silverblue and Kinoite—while noting delays due to Raspberry Pi bug fixes and strong interest in ARM support. At the same time, many remain frustrated by GNOME’s handling of fractional DPI scaling, graphics features like triple buffering and VRR, and what they see as misaligned priorities compared to real-world high‑DPI laptop needs.

Raspberry Pi and ARM Support

  • Release was delayed several times for Raspberry Pi bug fixes.
  • Fedora ARM currently lists support for rpi2/3/4; rpi5 not yet supported.
  • Some argue Fedora should focus on x86_64; others say ARM use (especially hobby) is rising.
  • Fedora on Raspberry Pi is reported as less reliable than Raspbian (e.g., broken audio jack, GPIO behavior).

Display Scaling, GNOME vs KDE, and HiDPI Laptops

  • Major pain point: fractional DPI scaling on laptops with “odd” high‑res panels (e.g., 2256×1504 3:2, 3K ThinkPads).
  • GNOME fractional scaling is still “experimental,” often causing blurry X11/XWayland apps (Signal, Steam, various Electron apps).
  • KDE is repeatedly cited as handling fractional scaling better on Wayland, though some report KDE-specific glitches (e.g., blurry Aurorae decorations).
  • Workarounds include 100% scale with “Large Text,” 200% integer scaling with smaller fonts, and per‑app tweaks (e.g., STEAM_FORCE_DESKTOPUI_SCALING).
  • Fractional scaling briefly appeared in Fedora 39 beta, then was reverted and postponed (targeted for Fedora 40).

Fedora as Daily Desktop OS

  • Many praise Fedora (especially Workstation and KDE spin) as fast, stable, and highly productive compared to Windows (no forced reboots, snappier UI).
  • Others describe being burned repeatedly by desktop Linux quirks (especially on Framework laptops) and returning to macOS or Windows.
  • Some say Ubuntu currently feels more polished on the desktop, particularly around fractional scaling.

Immutable/Atomic Fedora Variants (Silverblue, Kinoite, CoreOS)

  • Several users are positive on Silverblue/Kinoite: atomic updates, easy rollbacks, reduced “system rot,” reproducible setups.
  • Common pattern: base OS is immutable; development happens in containers (toolbox/distrobox) and most GUI apps via Flatpak.
  • Others find the benefits “theoretical” on desktops and dislike the extra friction for system‑level tweaking.
  • Fedora CoreOS/Red Hat CoreOS seen as more obviously beneficial on servers (atomic updates, cattle-style infrastructure).

GNOME Feature Priorities and Governance

  • Strong frustration that dynamic triple buffering, VRR, and robust fractional scaling keep slipping, while visible UI features (e.g., workspace switcher, image viewer) ship.
  • Some defend GNOME, noting complex MRs uncover many bugs and that distros can downstream patches (Ubuntu’s triple buffering, SteamOS VRR).
  • Debate over Red Hat’s influence: claims that Red Hat contributes much of GNOME vs. counterclaims that community contributors outnumber them.
  • Criticism of GNOME APIs and stability as a barrier to outside contributions; also complaints that some new features are unwanted or distracting.

KDE and Alternative Distros

  • Multiple users advocate Fedora KDE spin, Debian 12 KDE, openSUSE Tumbleweed (KDE default), and SteamOS (KDE-based) as better HiDPI/desktop experiences.
  • Some want Fedora to make KDE a first-class choice on the main download page and even bring back multi-DE chooser ISOs.

Bootloader and Upgrade Experience

  • Enthusiasm for official sd-boot support instead of GRUB.
  • Several report extremely smooth upgrades to Fedora 39, including complex desktops with Nvidia GPUs, multi-monitor, dual-boot, and encrypted disks.