After hearing the Linux Luddites guys talk about how Debian's installer and documentation sort of hide the option to install alternative desktops (though the wiki does cover it) and following the "Fedora.Next" debate on the mailing list about the future of spins, I came across the documentation for Fedora's software-selection "spoke" in the new Anaconda installer.

It's been so long since I've done a Fedora install (I've had this system since about May 2013) that I forgot about the part of the new Anaconda installer that defaults to the GNOME desktop but allows you to deselect GNOME and choose KDE, Xfce, LXDE, Cinnamon, MATE or Sugar and then go back to the "hub" and continue with the installation tasks, eventually (hopefully) ending up with a functioning Linux installation.

Say what you will about the Anaconda installer, especially the new "hub and spoke" version (and much of what has been said is far from kind), but the ability to select any of the major desktops during the installation process is a win.

Not that (as I've noted above) you can't do that with the Debian installer, but amid all the back-and-forth over Fedora spins in Fedora.next, it's nice to know you can download and burn a single Fedora disc or flash drive and use it to install the desktop environment of your choice.

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There still is a packaged version of the AMD Catalyst video driver in RPM Fusion, and it's being updated with each and every kernel release. For Fedora 19.

So what about Fedora 20? The maintainer has made it clear that he's no longer interested in building the package going forward for RPM Fusion, so Fedora 20 users have nothing.

It's lucky (for me anyway) that installing the Catalyst driver direct from AMD isn't as difficult as it was earlier in the F20 cycle. But it's not as easy as installing an RPM package.

If my laptop didn't choke on video (both full screen and windowed in VLC and Totem) and run 30 to 50 degrees hotter with the open Radeon driver, I wouldn't give a damn.

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Ah, the "good ol' days." Remember Configuring Fedora 18 to print to HP LaserJet 1020 is a pain in the ass? That was when getting the el-cheapo HP LaserJet 1020 to print in Fedora was merely troublesome.

In Fedora 20? So far it has been impossible. The printer is clearly recognized as being connected by USB because it's listed in the output of lsusb. But the printer is not recognized when I run hp-setup. I can't even get to the part when I download and add the proprietary firmware that should already be inside the printer but isn't because HP hates people.

At least there's already a Fedora bug filed on the problem (to which I've added a "me too.")

On this Fedora 20 system, I have no problem printing to any number of networked printers (all of which happen to be HP devices, but that's besides the point). But the USB printer I have at home? Nope. I'll have to try with a live Xubuntu system to see if the problem is Fedora-specific. (I'd say there's a 99 percent chance of that being the case).

I'd love to see a speedy resolution to this one. I don't print all that often, but it's nice to have the option ... to ... print. Right?

It's been a long time since those halcyon days of mid-2010 through early 2013 when I ran Debian Squeeze and Wheezy on my Lenovo G555 laptop (with AMD CPU and GPU) and had working suspend/resume.

Being able to suspend the laptop and bring it back within seconds by opening the lid changes the way I use the computer. It's pretty much a killer feature. And I've missed it terribly.

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